Amr Abdel-Halim, Mohammed Al Khars, Ahmad Alnasser
{"title":"Evaluating the technical efficiency of Saudi Arabian telecommunications companies using window DEA and AHP techniques","authors":"Amr Abdel-Halim, Mohammed Al Khars, Ahmad Alnasser","doi":"10.1108/imefm-02-2023-0043","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Purpose This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of the three telecommunications companies in Saudi Arabia: Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Mobily and Zain over the period of 2010–2019. This evaluation is a step toward improving the performance of the Saudi telecommunications sector. Design/methodology/approach Three multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques were used to calculate technical efficiency. These techniques include the traditional data envelopment analysis (DEA), window DEA and analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The three inputs used were total assets, operating expenses and capital expenditures, whereas the two outputs were sales revenue and total stockholders’ equity. Findings STC was ranked first using the three techniques, followed by Zain, and then Mobily. According to the DEA window analysis, these three companies were all efficient only in 2012. The efficiency was high in the initial years, 2010–2013, when it was above 0.90, and it dropped below 0.90 in the subsequent years, 2014–2019. In addition, the efficiency of STC remained high, with an average of 0.990. However, the average efficiencies of Zain and Mobily during this period were 0.807 and 0.804, respectively. Originality/value This is the first study to use the three MCDM techniques to evaluate the performance of telecommunications providers. The results show that window DEA is better than the other two techniques at evaluating performance over time, as it has a higher discrimination power than either the traditional DEA or AHP.","PeriodicalId":47091,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management","volume":"0 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1108/imefm-02-2023-0043","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BUSINESS, FINANCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Purpose This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of the three telecommunications companies in Saudi Arabia: Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Mobily and Zain over the period of 2010–2019. This evaluation is a step toward improving the performance of the Saudi telecommunications sector. Design/methodology/approach Three multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques were used to calculate technical efficiency. These techniques include the traditional data envelopment analysis (DEA), window DEA and analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The three inputs used were total assets, operating expenses and capital expenditures, whereas the two outputs were sales revenue and total stockholders’ equity. Findings STC was ranked first using the three techniques, followed by Zain, and then Mobily. According to the DEA window analysis, these three companies were all efficient only in 2012. The efficiency was high in the initial years, 2010–2013, when it was above 0.90, and it dropped below 0.90 in the subsequent years, 2014–2019. In addition, the efficiency of STC remained high, with an average of 0.990. However, the average efficiencies of Zain and Mobily during this period were 0.807 and 0.804, respectively. Originality/value This is the first study to use the three MCDM techniques to evaluate the performance of telecommunications providers. The results show that window DEA is better than the other two techniques at evaluating performance over time, as it has a higher discrimination power than either the traditional DEA or AHP.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management (IMEFM) publishes quality and in-depth analysis on current issues within Islamic and Middle Eastern finance and management. The journal welcomes strong evidence-based empirical studies and results-focused case studies that share research in product development and clarify best practices. The title is also keen to consider work from emerging authors. IMEFM has just also accepted into Clarivate''s SSCI in 2018, and its IF will be available in summer 2019, with citations dating from 2016. The coverage includes but is not limited to: -Islamic finance: Fundamentals, trends and opportunities in Islamic Finance, Islamic banking and financial markets, Risk management, Corporate finance, Investment strategy, Islamic social finance, Financial planning, Housing finance, Legal and regulatory issues, -Islamic management: Corporate governance, Customer relationship management and service quality, Business ethics and corporate social responsibility, Management styles and strategies in Shariah environments, Labour and welfare economics, Political economy. The journal is the only title aiming to give an interdisciplinary and holistic view on Islamic finance and business management practices in order to inform these two intertwined communities.