Title: The dynamic efficiency evaluation of major liner shipping companies: the long-term impact of strategical investment

Authors: Renjun Liu; Xiaofan Wu

Addresses: School of Business Administration, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China ' College of Economic and Social Development, Nankai University, Tianjin, China

Abstract: Should liner shipping companies be strategical investors or conservative investors? This study answered the question with a dynamic efficiency evaluation of major liner shipping companies from 2009 to 2020. We used the carry-over inputs to show the impact of strategical investment in a dynamic DEA model. Through the dynamic DEA results, we found that strategical investment in appropriate time can diminish the impact of price mechanism in the shipping cycle. The dynamic DEA model also showed that scales and alliance membership would not affect shipping companies' efficiency scores. The result suggests that liner shipping companies and industry should always have a long-term perspective rather than focus on short-term profit when making strategical investment.

Keywords: efficiency evaluation; strategical investment; super-efficiency DEA; dynamic DEA; liner shipping companies.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTL.2024.139066

International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, 2024 Vol.18 No.3, pp.341 - 363

Received: 12 Jul 2022
Accepted: 27 Dec 2022
Published online: 11 Jun 2024 *

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