Evaluation of the Export Efficiency of the Turkish Ceramic Industry during the Global Crisis using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Method

Abstract

In 2009, the world entered a new financial era. The ongoing global economic crisis has affected all developing and developed countries. During this period, the crisis turned into a complete economic crisis affecting not only financial circles but also the real sector. This chapter evaluates the impact of the global crisis upon the export performance of the Turkish ceramics sector. To this end, this study seeks to measure the export performance of the ceramics factories, ranked among the largest 1,000 industrial firms in 2009, and to offer some recommendations for improvement in the industrial production. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used in the identification of the effectiveness in the exports by ceramics companies. The study, which relies on eight firms as decision units is comprised of three inputs (net actives, number of workers, and amount of production) and one output (export). The study, based on output-oriented DEA, finds that only Vitra was effective and efficient in its exports in 2009. Based on these findings, it could be concluded that the only company that has not been affected by the global crisis was Vitra.