Practice Frontier Research Articles

An innovative benefit‐of‐the‐doubt approach for health system effectiveness: a global case study on amenable mortality

AbstractHealth system performance assessment (HSPA) is essential for health planning and to improve population health. One of the HSPA domains is related to effectiveness, which can be represented considering different dimensions. Composite indicators can be used to summarize complex constructs involving several indicators. One example of such efforts is the Healthcare Access and Quality Index from the Global Burden of Diseases Study, in which different causes of mortality amenable to health care are summarized in this index through principal component analysis and exploratory factor analysis. While these approaches use the variance of the indicators, marginal improvement is not considered, that is, the distance to the best practice frontier. In this study we propose an innovative benefit‐of‐the‐doubt approach to combine frontier analysis and composite indicators, using amenable mortality estimates for 188 countries. In particular, we include flexible aggregating weighting schemes and a robust and conditional approach. The dual formulation gives information on the peers and the potential mortality rate reduction targets considering the background conditions. In absolute terms, Andorra and high‐income countries are the most effective regarding healthcare access and quality, while sub‐Saharan African and South Asian countries are the least effective. North African and Middle Eastern countries benefit the most when epidemiological patterns, geographical proximity, and country development status are considered.

Assessing the influence of financial fair play on sporting performance: A study of the Spanish league using a data envelopment analysis model

AbstractThe football industry stands as an important economic sector in numerous countries, sparking scholarly discussions on the multifaceted nature of interconnected objectives and the influence of financial, accounting, and management elements on athletic performance. This discussion has gained prominence following the implementation of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, which have substantially reshaped industry management practices. This study introduces two innovative models—financial and sporting—that employ data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the performance of Spanish league football clubs within the context of FFP regulations. These models illuminate a crucial aspect of sports economic theory: the balancing act between financial and sporting objectives. Moreover, our analysis explores the influence of FFP on the efficiency of the Spanish league by comparing club proximity to the best practice frontier before and after FFP implementation. Our findings uncover intriguing differentiations within the proposed models and across various club clusters, providing valuable insights into the nuanced interplay among finance, accounting, and sports management.

A Theoretical Review Towards a Conceptual Framework for Creating ‘Neoclassic Big-Band Highlife Music’

It is a truism that highlife, Ghana’s first acculturated popular music, presents various styles employing various musical ensembles and playing to different audiences. However, the diverse highlife stylistic trends have declined in musical works recently due to generational differences and tastes. As a result, modern-day recorded highlife compositions sound similar and, in some cases, the same. Despite its iconicity in Ghanaian popular music, it is also quite surprising that highlife music still struggles for compositional and theoretical relevance in Ghanaian academic programmes of schools, colleges and universities. This paper, therefore, presents a characterisation of the diverse highlife music trends as an attempt to develop a conceptual framework for creating ‘neoclassic big-band highlife music’ that transcends diverse styles and generational tastes. Drawing on my experience as a highlife practitioner and music educator, I reviewed theories, concepts, and literature relevant to highlife music to conceptualise a framework for creating works that transcend the generational differences and tastes of highlife music. This paper expands the frontiers of highlife music practice and scholarship. Therefore, it is not just a recommendation but a call to action for Music composition professors to adopt this conceptual framework as a blueprint to begin a taught course on ‘Highlife Music Composition’ in music institutions. The involvement of Music composition professors in this process is crucial to enhancing the structural and theoretical trajectory of highlife music.

Goal-oriented common benchmarking based on global and stepwise reallocation: An application to 18 ports in Korea

Common benchmarking can identify a common best practice frontier as the benchmark to assess and improve the performance of Decision-Making Units (DMUs) experiencing similar circumstances. At present, further exploration in common benchmarking is still needed. For instance, the similarity between management goals and targets belonging to a common best practice frontier. To fill this gap, we propose the following innovative work: (1) A novel Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model is proposed to identify a common best practice frontier on which targets closest to management goals can be found for all DMUs experiencing similar circumstances. These targets need to be achieved through a global reallocation of inputs/outputs among DMUs; (2) Considering the targets closest to management goals are too ambitious for some DMUs, an iterative algorithm is given based on another new DEA model for providing the stepwise reallocation paths. The stepwise reallocation paths can distribute the total reallocation efforts into several intermediate steps; (3) The effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm is illustrated by applying them to a case of 18 ports in Korea. For this purpose, we use the input–output data set of these ports in 2010 and assume actual management goals for every port. The results of the case show some conclusions. First, the target of each port located on the common best practice facet is closest to its management goal. Second, global redistribution can make all ports obtain the best input–output levels. Third, ports with limited reallocation potential can monotonically and gradually achieve their distant targets through our stepwise schemes.

Translation efficiency and directionally optimal scale

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to show that instead of choosing the benchmark technology solely by means of maximal average productivities, a new whole range of options is opened up by using for this purpose the direction vector. By choosing any particular direction vector to evaluate technical efficiency we in fact predetermine by means of the relevant reflection vector the ray of average productivities we want to achieve. Then we may measure the extent of producing an inefficiently small (large) output by means of what we refer to as translation efficiency by comparing the average productivities of the projection of the observed input–output combination onto the best practice frontier and that of the graph translation homothetic technology. We can also determine the optimal production scale, which we refer to as directionally optimal scale, and which is defined conditionally on this vector of average productivities.

Need for stable quality control and drug pharmacopeia in African pharmaceutical settings: a new way to independent drug production

For years now, Africa are on the verge of a shortage of drug production1,2, quality control of traditional/indigenous plants, and imported drugs due to limited stable pharmacopeia availability specifically for African herbs, drugs, and plants. Therefore, we write this piece to raise and put African Union stakeholders into action to see the need to have a stable quality control drug pharmacopeia in Africa. In the course of advancing sustainable drug discovery and development, many countries are making indelible efforts through the implementation of policies regulating medicines. Pharmacopoeia is a reverenced compendium of regulations and official standards for the qualitative and quantitative compositions of medicines and manufacturing of drugs3. Unlike the British Pharmacopoeia (BP), United States Pharmacopoeia (USP), and European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.), the African Union (AU) has 2 pharmacopeias: the African Pharmacopoeia (169 traditional plants) and African Herbal Pharmacopoeia (51 traditional plants), which have detailed botanical description of medicinal plants and quality control protocols of traditional medicines that should be followed for chemical analysis and medicinal development of the selected African traditional plants4,5. However, this pharmacopeia does not have regulations and official standards for the quality and quantitative composition of other unlisted indigenous plants and imported drugs for quality control analysis in African settings. The limitations of the indigenous continental monograph silently promote the deindustrialization of pharmaceutical manufacturing and productivity in Africa. Lack of indigenous regulatory compendial influences poor manufacturing practice and inappropriate processes in the supply chain that support substandard and falsified medicines in many low-middle incomes countries in Africa6. The AU Commission and other indigenous pharma experts should take the lead and actions toward the development of full standard pharmacopeia for all indigenous/traditional plants to promote pharma industrialization and improve standardization of quality medicine7, and quality control of drug composition and traditional medicine in Africa, and for Africans without compromising on international standards. A collative review of the USP, Ph. Eur., and BP can provide the right direction for a start to look inward as Africans to provide a working draft that could advance the frontiers of good manufacturing practice, quality controls, proper marketing authorization and appropriate supply chain of medicines and herbal products in the AU. Regular training for experts or professionals would support the drive and sustainability of these regulations to help the government and other competent authorities in various African countries. Ethical approval None. Sources of funding None. Author contribution V.N.N.: conceptualized the study. V.N.N., A.T.A., and F.A.A.: draft manuscript, review editing, formatting, and referencing. Conflict of interest disclosure The authors declare that they have no financial conflict of interest with regard to the content of this report. Research registration unique identifying number (UIN) N/A. Guarantor Victor N. Nweze. Provenance and peer review Not commissioned, externally peer reviewed.

The limits of open innovation: Failures, risks, and costs in open innovation practice and theory

The success of open innovation has been widely acknowledged in both industrial practice and academic research. However, we understand much less about the limits of open innovation. A better understanding of this downside is nevertheless very important as there are still many organizations that struggle when trying to implement an open innovation strategy. At the same time, some research has pointed to decreasing returns to openness, or more generally to the compex relationship between open innovation and (financial) performance. This is why we call for more attention to failures, risks, and costs — and even the “dark side” — in the context of open innovation. In this editorial, we will further introduce this perspective, describe the articles published in this special issue, and offer some suggestions for future research. Overall, we believe that a better understanding of the limits of openness will allow for a more balanced view, thereby further expanding the frontiers of open innovation practice and theory.

Corporate Governance Research in the Digital Economy: New Paradigms and Frontiers of Practice

Digital technologies are increasingly changing the nature of competition and generating externalities that impact society. While the growth of a digital and sustainable economy may increase firm performance, these new trends also raise potential challenges for companies pertaining to corporate governance structures. In this paper, the impact of digitalization on corporate governance practices is discussed from the perspective of developing technologies and institutionalization, revealing potential effects, transformations, and steps to take. Our findings indicate that the development of the digital economy can facilitate enterprise digital transformation, enhance agency efficiency, and increase online media attention, thereby significantly promoting CSR performance for local firms. Digital transformation has an effect on the information quality and corporate governance, reducing agency costs, improving internal control, and attracting more analysts’ tracking, so as to build an effective trust mechanism between firms and the external market. The research conclusion of this article is helpful in analyzing the policy effectiveness of current corporate information disclosure regulations, and also provides a basis for the subsequent formulation of relevant disclosure policies. In addition to its theoretical significance, this paper also has important policy implications.

Predicting the antecedents of travelers purchase behavior through OTAs – A hybrid structural equation modeling with fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis

This research's primary focus was implementing the Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (FSQCA) approach assisted by Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to evaluate consumers' purchasing behavior through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs). A survey comprising nine principal elements: 1) purchase behavior (PB) of travel from OTAs, 2) purchase intention (PUI) of travel from OTAs, 3) attitude toward purchasing travel from OTAs, 4) communicability, 5) compatibility, 6) perceived relative advantages, 7) experience, 8) extroversion and 9) personal innovativeness, was used for this purpose. Using an empirical study with 374 consumers, we identify the variables and configurations that influence consumers’ purchasing behavior through OTAs. Both PLS-SEM and FSQCA methods have indicated the critical role of attitude, perceived relative advantages, communicability, and personal innovativeness to ensure the purchasing intention and behavior among OTAs. The results showed that purchasing intention is a necessary condition for purchasing behavior of travel from OTAs. The findings enrich the existing literature on consumer behavior toward purchasing travel online.Overall, the main results obtained by FSQCA method were robust and show high predictive validity. It is envisioned that the outcomes of this paper could assist both researchers and tourism practitioners with appreciating the research and practice frontier of consumer behavior and travel companies.

The Return of Alienation to the Frontiers of Sociological Theory and Practice

The Return of Alienation to the Frontiers of Sociological Theory and Practice

Measuring Efficiencies of Dairy Buffalo Farms in the Philippines Using Data Envelopment Analysis

This study aimed to measure the efficiency scores of 75 dairy buffalo farms in the province of Nueva Ecija, Central Luzon, Philippines, using an input-oriented, variable-return-to-scale Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model. The farmer-informants or decision-making units (DMUs) were categorized as smallholders, family modules, and semi-commercial in operations. Personal interviews using structured questionnaires were done to gather various information on the socio-economic and management practices of the DMUs. Output in the form of volume and value of milk produced and inputs such as quantities and costs of biologics, feeds, forage, and labor were also collected and evaluated among individual DMUs. The efficiency scores were computed using PIM-DEA software, which identified fully efficient DMUs lying on the frontier line (scores of 1.0) and those enveloped by it (inefficient DMUs with scores of less than 1.0). The overall mean Technical Efficiency (TE), Allocative Efficiency (AE), and Economic Efficiency (EE) scores among the DMUs were 0.80, 0.81, and 0.65, respectively. Most of the inefficient DMUs were in the smallholder category. In sum, smallholder DMUs classified under low and moderate TE clusters should reduce their inputs by 53.31% and 40.01%, respectively, to become fully efficient. Likewise, higher lambda values among efficient peer DMUs indicate the best practice frontiers that the inefficient peer DMUs can benchmark with. Extension and advisory services can help promote the best management practices of the frontiers to improve the TE, AE, and EE of the inefficient DMUs.

Historians at the frontiers of medical practice

Historians at the frontiers of medical practice

The assessment of performance trends and convergence in education and training systems of European countries

The Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training (ET 2020) aimed to promote the exchange of best practices among the Member States. This paper assesses the performance evolution of European countries in terms of the common objectives for the education sector. The framework used to evaluate European education systems is based on constructing a composite indicator adopting a “benefit-of-the-doubt” approach. The evaluation of performance change over time is done using a Global Malmquist Index. Sigma and beta convergence of EU countries are also explored using non-parametric frontier techniques. The results are analysed for the period 2009–2018 and discussed in light of the goals envisaged and the national policies adopted. The results revealed a trend of improvement in the performance of education systems in most European countries in the period analysed. Although most European countries moved closer to the European best practice frontier over time, as confirmed by the values of sigma-convergence, a few countries are still lagging considerably below their peers, as revealed by the existence of divergence in beta.

Bank efficiency and failure prediction: a nonparametric and dynamic model based on data envelopment analysis.

For decades, the prediction of bank failure has been a popular topic in credit risk and banking studies. Statistical and machine learning methods have been working well in predicting the probability of bankruptcy for different time horizons prior to the failure. In recent years, bank efficiency has attracted much interest from academic circles, where low productivity or efficiency in banks has been regarded as a potential reason for failure. It is generally believed that low efficiency implies low-quality management of the organisation, which may lead to bad performance in the competitive financial markets. Previous papers linking efficiency measures calculated by Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to bank failure prediction have been limited to cross sectional analyses. A dynamic analysis with the updated samples is therefore recommended for bankruptcy prediction. This paper proposes a nonparametric method, Malmquist DEA with Worst Practice Frontier, to dynamically assess the bankruptcy risk of banks over multiple periods. A total sample of 4426 US banks over a period of 15 years (2002–2016), covering the subprime financial crisis, is used to empirically test the model. A static model is used as the benchmark, and we introduce more extensions for comparisons of predictive performance. Results of the comparisons and robustness tests show that Malmquist DEA is a useful tool not only for estimating productivity growth but also to give early warnings of the potential collapse of banks. The extended DEA models with various reference sets and orientations also show strong predictive power.

Fall 2021

In the Fall 2021 issue of Advances in Social Work, we are pleased to present 16 full-length papers written by 30 authors from different regions of the U.S. including Puerto Rico as well as from Ghana. An underlying theme of many of these contributions is the opportunity brought about through various struggles: patriarchal systems leading to innovative women entrepreneurs, social distancing measures spawning new ways of learning virtually and new ways of practicing social work, and mental health challenges exposed among elite athletes leading to new frontiers of practice. The variety of social work contributions to wellness, advocacy, and social justice seem to be ever-expanding. Interestingly, despite the trend toward multiple-authored papers over time, 7 of the papers in this issue are solo-authored--perhaps an artifact of the pandemic. Each paper is introduced briefly below, followed by our annual recognition of reviewers for Advances in Social Work.

Evaluating retail efficiency using DEA and AHP: a case in the Turkish apparel retail industry

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to propose a comprehensive efficiency evaluation approach to measure the efficiency of the retailers and to determine the relative importance of a wide variety of apparel retail-specific factors that support efficiency.Design/methodology/approachThe first stage of the proposed approach is the measurement of the relative efficiency of the apparel retailers by using data envelopment analysis (DEA) for identifying the best practice frontier and determination of the improvement ratios. The second stage is the prioritization of the factors that are important in the apparel retail efficiency using analytical hierarchy process (AHP).FindingsThe findings of the study revealed that the quantitative criteria to be considered for efficiency through input minimization and output maximization were “number of employees” and “profit before tax,” respectively, however, focusing on output maximization was found to be more critical. In addition, it was seen that the most important qualitative components of efficiency were satisfied customers, qualified staff and branding.Practical implicationsThe managerial actors in the apparel retail industry can be alerted for new strategic actions to adopt best practices or take precautions for future inefficiencies with the help of the results obtained. The customized hierarchical structure allows determining the priority areas that need to be focused on for increasing the performance of apparel retailers.Originality/valueIn this study, DEA and AHP were combined to build a comprehensive efficiency evaluation approach in the apparel retail industry for the first time in the literature. Thus, both qualitative and quantitative variables that are important in apparel retail efficiency were put forward and evaluated. The originality of the hierarchical structure in AHP was its customization to the apparel retail industry.

From a millennium to a sustainable water and sanitation development: were we there already?

Abstract The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) brought many countries closer to the best practices in several sectors. However, regarding water and sanitation services (WSS), the evolution from the original Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is not yet understood. Therefore, analysing whether low- and middle-income nations were able to converge in terms of WSS is fundamental for policy-making. Here, we propose a benchmarking exercise aimed at assessing the performance of 123 low- and middle-income UN Member States regarding WSS development targets over the 2001–2015 period of MDG pursuance. In the end, we show that, on average, the assessed Member States were already fully convergent before the implementation of the SDGs, despite further improvements with the latter. Additionally, we show that all UN regional groupings were able to decrease not only the performance spread of their Member States, but also the gap between the best practice frontier and the worst practice frontier. Besides, the Proportion of population using an improved drinking water source was the indicator with the highest performance growth in the considered period.

Assessing Asian Economies Renewable Energy Consumption Efficiency Using DEA with Undesirable Output

Along with vast non-fossil potential and significant expertise, there is a question of whether Asian nations are attaining efficient consumption and exploitation of renewable resources. From this perspective, the paper aims to evaluate the efficiency of 14 potential Asia countries in renewable energy consumption during the six-year periods (2014–2019). In analyzing the performance of the renewable energy sector, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) with an undesirable output model approach has been widely utilized to measure the efficiency of peer units compared with the best practice frontier. We consider four inputs and two outputs to a DEA-based efficiency model. Labor force, total energy consumption, share of renewable energy, and total renewable energy capacity are inputs. The outputs consist of CO2 emissions as an undesirable output and gross domestic product as a desirable output. The results show that United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and South Korea consistently outperform in the evaluation, achieving perfect efficiency scores during the research period. Uzbekistan is found to have the lowest average efficiency of renewable energy utilization.

Sustainable water and sanitation for all: Are we there yet?

The lack of access to water and sanitation services (WSS) of a considerable share of the world population has been challenging the international community for decades. The proposal of the Millennium Development Goals and, later on, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations (UN) intended to act as a blueprint to achieve a more equitable future for all and, in the case of WSS, “Ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” (SDG 6). However, the current global pandemic further emphasised the importance of WSS, given the increasing asymmetries faced by billions worldwide, and the gaps between high-income and low- and middle-income nations. For this reason, understanding whether low- and middle-income countries have been approximating towards or deviating from the SDG 6 is crucial to derive and communicate key information for the sake of improved public governance and political decision-making. In this paper, we extend a state-of-the-art methodology based on data envelopment analysis for assessing the convergence of the low- and middle-income UN Member States regarding the SDG 6 between 2016 and 2017. We find that, on average, not only did the Member States converge by decreasing the performance spread and the gap between the best and worst practice frontiers, but also the Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources was the indicator in which the majority exhibited the worst performances. In the end, we derive possible policy implications, which, as our results show, are aligned with the recent UN reports on the subject.

BIM research vs BIM practice: a bibliometric-qualitative analysis from China

PurposeUnderstanding the frontier difference between building information modeling (BIM) research and practice is a top priority to guarantee the engineering significance and feasibility of academic achievements, yet such research gap has not been well-explored. The purpose of this paper is to provide an objective and accurate analysis of BIM knowledge using 551 published BIM-related papers and 68 documents of frontier BIM projects in China.Design/methodology/approachThis paper adopts the mixed method, combining the bibliometrics method with the qualitative method. Bibliometrics was used to analyze 551 BIM-related literatures from China with Citespace 5.0. Qualitative research was used to analyze 68 project documents from China with Nvivo. Finally, the analysis results are compared to obtain the final conclusion.FindingsThe analysis results of the collected BIM-related papers, given by bibliometrics analysis, show that the subject categories of engineering, civil engineering, and construction and building technology, and 8 key research clusters are extremely important for development of BIM knowledge. The analysis results of the collected project documents, given by qualitative analysis, indicate that visualization, aided management, intelligent construction, simulation and analysis are the hot applications of BIM practice.Originality/valueThrough comparison, certain research gaps between the research and practice community in China was identified, which are useful for identification of research trends and practice frontier in BIM community. This study offers useful and new insights to summarize the status quo of BIM and can be used as a reference to integrate future BIM developments.