IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/telpol/v39y2015i2p127-139.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Benchmarking and effects of reforms in the fixed telecommunications industry: A DDF approach

Author

Listed:
  • Bruno, Clementina
  • Manello, Alessandro

Abstract

Our article proposes an application of the Directional Distance Function (DDF) approach to the fixed telecommunication field. In particular, we present an efficiency evaluation of European fixed telecom operators, where the DDF tool allows for asymmetric treatment of outputs characterized by a different degree of desirability: broadband lines (a market still in expansion, related to a welfare-improving service) and narrow band lines (an almost saturated market, corresponding to a “minimal” TLC service in developed countries). Finally, by means of a second stage regression, we investigate the effect on technical efficiency of set of variables representing the competitive environment, the ownership structure and the degree of vertical separation. Our results show that the assumptions embedded in the DDF model influence relevantly the technical efficiency estimates, where important potential bias can arise if the duality of outputs is ignored, with a subsequent relevant impact also on the second stage results. These findings highlight the relevance of choosing benchmarking models consistent with the features of the analysed technology and show that the DDF approach is a flexible tool able to accommodate even complex output structures.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruno, Clementina & Manello, Alessandro, 2015. "Benchmarking and effects of reforms in the fixed telecommunications industry: A DDF approach," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 127-139.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:39:y:2015:i:2:p:127-139
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2014.12.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596114001980
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.telpol.2014.12.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrei Shleifer, 1998. "State versus Private Ownership," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 133-150, Fall.
    2. Gale Boyd & George Tolley & Joseph Pang, 2002. "Plant Level Productivity, Efficiency, and Environmental Performance of the Container Glass Industry," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 23(1), pages 29-43, September.
    3. Leopold Simar & Paul Wilson, 2000. "A general methodology for bootstrapping in non-parametric frontier models," Journal of Applied Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(6), pages 779-802.
    4. Lars-Hendrik Roller & Leonard Waverman, 2001. "Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Development: A Simultaneous Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 909-923, September.
    5. Yang, Hsu-Hao & Chang, Cheng-Yu, 0. "Using DEA window analysis to measure efficiencies of Taiwan's integrated telecommunication firms," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(1-2), pages 98-108, February.
    6. Martini, Gianmaria & Manello, Alessandro & Scotti, Davide, 2013. "The influence of fleet mix, ownership and LCCs on airports’ technical/environmental efficiency," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 37-52.
    7. Symeou, Pavlos C., 2011. "Economy size and performance: An efficiency analysis in the telecommunications sector," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 426-440, June.
    8. Pentzaropoulos, G. C. & Giokas, D. I., 2002. "Comparing the operational efficiency of the main European telecommunications organizations: A quantitative analysis," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(11), pages 595-606, December.
    9. Simar, Léopold & Vanhems, Anne & Wilson, Paul W., 2012. "Statistical inference for DEA estimators of directional distances," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 220(3), pages 853-864.
    10. Uri, Noel D., 2003. "The adoption of incentive regulation and its effect on technical efficiency in telecommunications in the United States," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(1), pages 21-34, October.
    11. Howell, Bronwyn & Meade, Richard & O'Connor, Seini, 2010. "Structural separation versus vertical integration: Lessons for telecommunications from electricity reforms," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 392-403, August.
    12. Giokas, D. I. & Pentzaropoulos, G. C., 2000. "Evaluating productive efficiency in telecommunications: evidence from Greece," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(8-9), pages 781-794, September.
    13. Kang, Chao-Chung, 2009. "Privatization and production efficiency in Taiwan's telecommunications industry," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 495-505, October.
    14. Sadjadi, S.J. & Omrani, H., 2010. "A bootstrapped robust data envelopment analysis model for efficiency estimating of telecommunication companies in Iran," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 221-232, May.
    15. E Thanassoulis, 2002. "Comparative performance measurement in regulation: the case of English and Welsh sewerage services," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 53(3), pages 292-302, March.
    16. Evans, David S & Heckman, James J, 1984. "A Test for Subadditivity of the Cost Function with an Application to the Bell System," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(4), pages 615-623, September.
    17. Megginson, William L & Nash, Robert C & van Randenborgh, Matthias, 1994. "The Financial and Operating Performance of Newly Privatized Firms: An International Empirical Analysis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(2), pages 403-452, June.
    18. Picazo-Tadeo, Andres J. & Reig-Martinez, Ernest & Hernandez-Sancho, Francesc, 2005. "Directional distance functions and environmental regulation," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 131-142, June.
    19. Massimo Florio, 2003. "Does privatisation matter? The long-term performance of British Telecom over 40 years," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 24(2), pages 197-234, June.
    20. Watanabe, Michio & Tanaka, Katsuya, 2007. "Efficiency analysis of Chinese industry: A directional distance function approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 6323-6331, December.
    21. Harry Bloch & Gary Madden & Scott Savage, 2001. "Economies of Scale and Scope in Australian Telecommunications," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 18(2), pages 219-227, March.
    22. Stéphane Blancard & Jean-Philippe Boussemart & Walter Briec & Kristiaan Kerstens, 2006. "Short- and Long-Run Credit Constraints in French Agriculture: A Directional Distance Function Framework Using Expenditure-Constrained Profit Functions," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 88(2), pages 351-364.
    23. Das, Nibedita, 2000. "Technology, efficiency and sustainability of competition in the Indian telecommunications sector," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 133-154, June.
    24. Simar, Leopold & Wilson, Paul W., 2007. "Estimation and inference in two-stage, semi-parametric models of production processes," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 31-64, January.
    25. Grove, Nico & Baumann, Oliver, 2012. "Complexity in the telecommunications industry: When integrating infrastructure and services backfires," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 40-50.
    26. Lien, Donald & Peng, Yan, 2001. "Competition and production efficiency: Telecommunications in OECD countries," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 51-76, March.
    27. R. G. Chambers & Y. Chung & R. Färe, 1998. "Profit, Directional Distance Functions, and Nerlovian Efficiency," Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications, Springer, vol. 98(2), pages 351-364, August.
    28. Symeou, Pavlos C. & Pollitt, Michael G., 2014. "Fixed voice telephony in economies of different sizes: When industry policy meets technological change," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 273-286.
    29. Palcic, Dónal & Reeves, Eoin, 0. "Organisational status change and performance: The case of Ireland's national telecommunications operator," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(5-6), pages 299-308, June.
    30. John Vickers & George Yarrow, 1991. "Economic Perspectives on Privatization," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 5(2), pages 111-132, Spring.
    31. Färe, Rolf & Grosskopf, Shawna & Pasurka, Carl A., 2007. "Environmental production functions and environmental directional distance functions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(7), pages 1055-1066.
    32. Lestage, Romain & Flacher, David & Kim, Yeonbae & Kim, Jihwan & Kim, Yunhee, 2013. "Competition and investment in telecommunications: Does competition have the same impact on investment by private and state-owned firms?," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 41-50.
    33. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki, 1998. "Privatization of nippon telegraph and telephone: Was it a good policy decision?," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(1), pages 45-61, May.
    34. Cave, Martin, 2006. "Six Degrees of Separation : Operational Separation as a Remedy in European Telecommunications Regulation," MPRA Paper 3572, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    35. Fare, Rolf, et al, 1989. "Multilateral Productivity Comparisons When Some Outputs Are Undesirable: A Nonparametric Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 71(1), pages 90-98, February.
    36. David Sappington & Dennis Weisman, 2010. "Price cap regulation: what have we learned from 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry?," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 227-257, December.
    37. Athanassopoulos, Antreas D. & Giokas, Dimitris, 1998. "Technical efficiency and economies of scale in state owned enterprises: The Hellenic telecommunications organisation," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 107(1), pages 62-75, May.
    38. Majumdar, Sumit K. & Chang, Hsihui, 2010. "On the determinants of non-market strategy: The separations mechanism and cost shifting in the telecommunications industry," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(11), pages 711-725, December.
    39. Rolf Färe & Shawna Grosskopf, 2000. "Theory and Application of Directional Distance Functions," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 93-103, March.
    40. AGRELL, Per & BOGETOFT, Peter, 2013. "Benchmarking and regulation," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2013008, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    41. Noel Uri, 2001. "Productivity Change, Technical Progress, and Efficiency Improvement in Telecommunications," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 18(3), pages 283-300, May.
    42. Greta Falavigna & Roberto Ippoliti & Alessandro Manello, 2013. "Hospital organization and performance: a directional distance function approach," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 139-151, June.
    43. Jamasb, T. & Pollitt, M., 2000. "Benchmarking and regulation: international electricity experience," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 107-130, September.
    44. Chambers, Robert G. & Chung, Yangho & Fare, Rolf, 1996. "Benefit and Distance Functions," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 407-419, August.
    45. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Aoki, Shingo, 2001. "A use of a nonparametric statistic for DEA frontier shift: the Kruskal and Wallis rank test," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-18, February.
    46. Richard T. Shin & John S. Ying, 1992. "Unnatural Monopolies in Local Telephone," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 23(2), pages 171-183, Summer.
    47. Uri, Noel D., 2001. "The effect of incentive regulation on productive efficiency in telecommunications," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 23(8), pages 825-846, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Emrouznejad, Ali & Yang, Guo-liang, 2016. "A framework for measuring global Malmquist–Luenberger productivity index with CO2 emissions on Chinese manufacturing industries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(P1), pages 840-856.
    2. Devicienti, Francesco & Manello, Alessandro & Vannoni, Davide, 2017. "Technical efficiency, unions and decentralized labor contracts," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 260(3), pages 1129-1141.
    3. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Li, Aijun & Liu, Xiaohong, 2019. "Exploring sources of China's CO2 emission: Decomposition analysis under different technology changes," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 279(3), pages 984-995.
    4. Färe, Rolf & Pasurka, Carl & Vardanyan, Michael, 2017. "On endogenizing direction vectors in parametric directional distance function-based models," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 262(1), pages 361-369.
    5. Vardanyan, Michael & Valdmanis, Vivian G. & Leleu, Hervé & Ferrier, Gary D., 2022. "Estimating technology characteristics of the U.S. hospital industry using directional distance functions with optimal directions," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    6. Fabian Queder, 2020. "Towards a vertically separated broadband infrastructure: The potential role of voluntary separation," Competition and Regulation in Network Industries, , vol. 21(2), pages 143-165, June.
    7. Alessandro Manello & Maurizio Cisi & Francesco Devicienti & Davide Vannoni, 2020. "Networking: a business for women," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 329-348, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kang, Chao-Chung & Wu, Chin-Chia, 2013. "Statistical precision of productivity change: A bootstrap application to Taiwan’s telecommunications industry," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 1015-1032.
    2. Mancuso, Paolo, 2012. "Regulation and efficiency in transition: The case of telecommunications in Italy," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(2), pages 762-770.
    3. Manello, Alessandro, 2017. "Productivity growth, environmental regulation and win–win opportunities: The case of chemical industry in Italy and Germany," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 262(2), pages 733-743.
    4. Tsai, Hsiang-Chih & Chen, Chun-Mei & Tzeng, Gwo-Hshiung, 2006. "The comparative productivity efficiency for global telecoms," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(2), pages 509-526, October.
    5. Léopold Simar & Paul W. Wilson, 2015. "Statistical Approaches for Non-parametric Frontier Models: A Guided Tour," International Statistical Review, International Statistical Institute, vol. 83(1), pages 77-110, April.
    6. Ke Wang & Yujiao Xian & Chia-Yen Lee & Yi-Ming Wei & Zhimin Huang, 2019. "On selecting directions for directional distance functions in a non-parametric framework: a review," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 278(1), pages 43-76, July.
    7. Moreno, Plácido & Lozano, Sebastián & Gutiérrez, Ester, 2013. "Dynamic performance analysis of U.S. wireline telecommunication companies," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 469-482.
    8. Kumar Mandal, Sabuj & Madheswaran, S., 2010. "Environmental efficiency of the Indian cement industry: An interstate analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 1108-1118, February.
    9. Falavigna, Greta & Manello, Alessandro & Pavone, Sara, 2013. "Environmental efficiency, productivity and public funds: The case of the Italian agricultural industry," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 73-80.
    10. Alessandro Manello & Gianmaria Martini & Davide Scotti, 2012. "The influence of LCC, Fleet mix and Ownership on airports' environmental effi ciency: evidence from Italy," Working Papers 1207, Department of Management, Information and Production Engineering, University of Bergamo.
    11. Lourdes Torres & Patricia Bachiller, 2013. "Efficiency of telecommunications companies in European countries," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(4), pages 863-886, November.
    12. Martini, Gianmaria & Manello, Alessandro & Scotti, Davide, 2013. "The influence of fleet mix, ownership and LCCs on airports’ technical/environmental efficiency," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 37-52.
    13. Alessandro Manello & Matteo Ferraris, 2013. "Eco-Efficiency in the Italian Waste Management sector," CERIS Working Paper 201312, CNR-IRCrES Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth - Torino (TO) ITALY - former Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth - Moncalieri (TO) ITALY.
    14. Manh D. Pham & Valentin Zelenyuk, 2018. "Slack-based directional distance function in the presence of bad outputs: theory and application to Vietnamese banking," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 153-187, February.
    15. Picazo-Tadeo, Andrés J. & Beltrán-Esteve, Mercedes & Gómez-Limón, José A., 2012. "Assessing eco-efficiency with directional distance functions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 220(3), pages 798-809.
    16. Yi-Hui Liao & Hsuan-Shih Lee, 2023. "Using a Directional Distance Function to Measure the Environmental Efficiency of International Liner Shipping Companies and Assess Regulatory Impact," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-13, February.
    17. Arabi, Behrouz & Munisamy, Susila & Emrouznejad, Ali, 2015. "A new slacks-based measure of Malmquist–Luenberger index in the presence of undesirable outputs," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 29-37.
    18. Annageldy Arazmuradov, 2016. "Economic prospect on carbon emissions in Commonwealth of Independent States," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 395-427, November.
    19. Zhang, Chunhong & Liu, Haiying & Bressers, Hans Th.A. & Buchanan, Karen S., 2011. "Productivity growth and environmental regulations - accounting for undesirable outputs: Analysis of China's thirty provincial regions using the Malmquist–Luenberger index," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(12), pages 2369-2379.
    20. Arocena, Pablo & Oliveros, Diana, 2012. "The efficiency of state-owned and privatized firms: Does ownership make a difference?," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 457-465.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:39:y:2015:i:2:p:127-139. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30471/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.