Papers by Emili Grifell-tatjé
Measuring sustainability of strategic performance
This paper proposes the assessment of sustained superior performance by means of two measures cal... more This paper proposes the assessment of sustained superior performance by means of two measures called Static Performance and Dynamic Performance. The first evaluates the attained superior performance, and the second gauges its sustainability over time. This proposal builds primarily on the fact that, under the strategic management perspective, a firm's prevalent objective is the pursuit of sustained superior performance. Three basic conceptual dimensions stem from this objective: relativity, sign dependence, and dynamism. They serve as the foundation to the two performance measures presented. In contrast to the measures and methods in extant literature, our proposal provides: (i) a dynamic approach by considering the progress or regress in performance over time; and (ii) a cardinal measurement of performance differences and its changes over time. The paper also develops an axiomatic framework that any measure of strategic performance should comply to be theoretically and managerially sound. Finally, an empirical application to the Spanish banking sector during 1987-1999 is used to illustrate the measures.
Top, 1999
In 1953 Sten Malmquist, a Swedish economist and statistician, published in Trabajos de Estadistic... more In 1953 Sten Malmquist, a Swedish economist and statistician, published in Trabajos de Estadistica the foundations of a productivity index which now bears his name. In this paper we generalize the Malmquist productivity index. We show that (i) the generalized Malmquist productivity index can be expressed as the product of a Malmquist productivity index and a Malmquist scale index; (ii) the generalized Malmquist productivity index can also be expressed as the ratio of a Malmquist output quantity index to a Malmquist input quantity index; (iii) the geometric mean of a pair of Malmquist scale indexes is equal to the reciprocal of the Törnqvist scale index, which implies that (iv) the geometric mean of a pair of generalized Malmquist productivity indexes is equal to a Törnqvist productivity index.
Managerial and Decision Economics, 2000
We develop an analytical model capable of decomposing both intertemporal and multilateral cost va... more We develop an analytical model capable of decomposing both intertemporal and multilateral cost variation. We begin by attributing cost variation to a price effect and a quantity effect. We then decompose the quantity effect into a productivity effect and an activity effect. The productivity effect in turn decomposes into a cost efficiency effect and, in the intertemporal context, a technical change effect. We also show how the intertemporal and multilateral cost decompositions can be implemented, using linear programming techniques. These techniques offer certain advantages over conventional econometric techniques whenever a substantial portion of cost variation is due to variation in cost efficiency. We illustrate the two cost decompositions with a pair of benchmarking exercises based on a panel of 93 US electric power generating companies, in which variation in cost efficiency does play a key role.
Journal of Productivity Analysis, 1998
The Malmquist productivity index is based on distance functions, which are reciprocals of radial ... more The Malmquist productivity index is based on distance functions, which are reciprocals of radial Debreu-Farrell efficiency measures, and which have a number of desirable properties. Linear programming techniques are frequently employed to calculate the efficiency measures. However these techniques can leave slacks, which constitute a non-radial form of inefficiency which is not incorporated into the analysis. Thus a radial efficiency
Journal of Comparative Economics, 2004
Most theoretical and empirical research on cooperatives focuses on the comparative statics behavi... more Most theoretical and empirical research on cooperatives focuses on the comparative statics behavior of optimizing cooperatives. We focus on the magnitude and sources of variation in the dividend that cooperatives are presumed to maximize. Variation in the dividend leads to an inefficient allocation of labor among cooperatives. For a panel of 59 Spanish cooperative financial institutions, from 1994 to 2001, we decompose dividend variation into mutually exclusive and exhaustive sources. We also compare the performance of all other cooperative financial institutions to that of Caja Laboral Popular, which provides financial services to the Mondragón group of cooperatives.
A New Decomposition of the Malmquist Production Index
Review of Income and Wealth
The main objective of this paper is to introduce an Allen-type index of differentiation based on ... more The main objective of this paper is to introduce an Allen-type index of differentiation based on cost functions. With this index, we create an economic measure of product differentiation that quantifies differences between products. Applied research has some generally accepted economic measures, for example, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index for market concentration, or the Gini coefficient for inequality. Product differentiation, however, does not yet have an established measure. Our objective is to fill that gap and introduce a measure that can be used in market-related applied research such as market power, antitrust, price indexes, or market strategy. To operationalize the index, we introduce the concept of a core product and use cost functions to measure the degree of differentiation from the core product. To demonstrate the use of the index, we study the effect of product differentiation on price formation in the airline industry using an enhanced hedonic model. The model is empirically tested on 103,980 observations of quarterly US domestic airfare data between 2002 and 2016 and shows that product differentiation has a significant effect on both price and markup .
Winners and losers of the productivity gains of the American agricultural sector
Applied Economics
Market heterogeneity and the relationship between competition and price dispersion: Evidence from the U.S. airline market
Transport Policy
Industrial Management & Data Systems
PurposeLarge attention surrounds identifying the meaningful blockchain business model on financia... more PurposeLarge attention surrounds identifying the meaningful blockchain business model on financial services, while a little focus about non-financial organizations and solutions in terms of how the blockchain business model can affect the organization and bring more value. To address the complex structure of businesses that have public goods, it is important to develop sustainable blockchain-based business models.Design/methodology/approachThis study offers the first qualitative research that uses an integrated technological, environmental and organizational (TOE) framework with technology acceptance theory (TAM) to study the adoption of blockchain technology by Spanish firms.FindingsThe results of the paper discuss how that competitive pressure, competence, top management support and relative advantage have a positive impact on intention to adopt blockchain technology while complexity affects the intention to adopt the technology negatively. Contrary to many adoption studies, the f...
The Oxford Handbook of Productivity Analysis, 2018
This chapter explores the relationship between productivity and financial performance, primarily ... more This chapter explores the relationship between productivity and financial performance, primarily at the level of an individual business. It begins by decomposing profit change into price and quantity drivers, under alternative accounting treatments of operating surplus. The chapter considers a range of related issues, including the drivers of productivity change, the distribution of the value productivity that change creates, problems associated with missing or distorted prices, complications caused by fluctuating exchange rates, and the use of price change to measure productivity change. In addition to profit, it considers alternative measures of financial performance, such as return on assets and unit cost. The chapter concludes by pointing to some topics deserving of further research.
Productivity Accounting: Preface
Productivity Accounting: Introduction
Productivity and Profitability
Religion Past and Present
A principios de los años 80 se implantó en España un sistema de regulación para el sector eléctri... more A principios de los años 80 se implantó en España un sistema de regulación para el sector eléctrico conocido como Marco Legal Estable, y que pretendía dar una solución a la situación de precariedad económica y financiera por la que atravesaba esta industria en esos momentos. Este marco legal se basaba en un sistema multiproducto, en el que se retribuía
Journal of Regulatory Economics, 2007
We study the economic, financial and distributional performance of the United States Postal Servi... more We study the economic, financial and distributional performance of the United States Postal Service subsequent to its 1971 reorganization. We investigate the economic drivers of productivity change (technical change, change in cost efficiency, and scale economies), and the distribution of the financial benefits of productivity change (consumers of postal services, postal employees and other resource suppliers, and residual claimants). We find improvements in technology to have been the main driver of, and diseconomies of scale to have been the main drag on, productivity change. We find labor to have been the main beneficiary, and consumers of postal services the main losers, from postal reorganization.
Computers & Operations Research, 2012
The aim of this study is to provide a tool which enables us to conduct statistical analysis in th... more The aim of this study is to provide a tool which enables us to conduct statistical analysis in the context of changes in productivity and profit. We build on previous initiatives to decompose profit change into mutually exclusive and exhaustive sources. To do this we use distance functions, which are calculated empirically using linear programming techniques. However, we may not learn a great deal by solving these linear programs unless methods of statistical analysis are used to examine the properties of the relevant estimators. Our purpose is to provide a methodology based on bootstrap that allows us to conduct statistical inference for the profit change decomposition. Thus, it will be possible to answer questions such as whether variations in the profit change components, or the differences across firms, are statistically significant. We provide an application to Spanish commercial banks for the 2003/2004 period. Results suggest that profit change differentials between them are not always significant. Therefore, the validity of the conclusions which do not factor in the bootstrap may be jeopardized to varying degrees.
European Journal of Operational Research, 2008
other participants at the Economic Measurement Group '02 Workshop held at the School of Economics... more other participants at the Economic Measurement Group '02 Workshop held at the School of Economics of the University of New South Wales for helpful comments. Financial support from the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas (IVIE) is also gratefully acknowledged.
Advances in Cost Frontier Analysis of the Firm
The Oxford Handbook of Managerial Economics, 2013
We study various analytical frameworks relating productivity change to change in the cost structu... more We study various analytical frameworks relating productivity change to change in the cost structure and cost efficiency of the firm. We begin by motivating a focus on the cost side, and not the revenue side, of the profit objective of the firm. We continue by relating the cost accounting tool of standard cost variance analysis to the economics tool of cost efficiency analysis. We focus on managerially controllable drivers of cost efficiency, including productivity change and its components. We conclude by noting some significant empirical applications of the analysis, by recommending cost efficiency analysis as a valuable tool for benchmarking against the best, and by suggesting some new directions for research.
This paper offers a quantitative evaluation of the distribution of the welfare of a water privati... more This paper offers a quantitative evaluation of the distribution of the welfare of a water privatization experience in Mali among labor, investors, intermediate input providers, users and taxpayers. The assessment is based on an index number inspired by Bennet (1920). We find four main impacts. First, taxpayers are the main losers as subsidies are still needed. Second, users benefited through lower real water prices, although users in Bamako did better than the others and future users will be hurt by insufficient investment. Third, labor, intermediate suppliers and investors have also benefited. Fourth, efficiency-equity trade-offs are for real in the water business in Africa. Indeed, the distribution of the gains within factor categories has not been even, largely favoring foreign actors over domestic actors. This easily explains the unhappiness of the Malians. The regulatory decisions to correct it explains why the private operator lost its incentive to stay in the country.
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Papers by Emili Grifell-tatjé