Multi-period network data envelopment analysis to measure efficiency of a real business

Measuring the efficiency of real businesses is not a simple task, because a real business may involve several processes and sub-processes, forming a very complicated dynamic network of interactions. in this paper a customized dynamic network data envelopment analysis (ndea) model is proposed to measure the efficiency of the sub-processes in a real business. the proposed dynamic ndea model is fully designed and customized for imi which is a leading institute in providing consulting management, publication, and educational services. first, we have identified the network of the industrial management institute (imi) which includes educational, consulting, and publication sub-processes. then, the most important sub-processes and the associated dynamic interactions are determined. afterwards, a dynamic ndea model is proposed to measure the efficiency of sub-processes. the main theoretical properties of proposed dynamic ndea model are also discussed through theorems. assessing the performance of imi's sub-processes is not a trivial task due to the complexity of sub-processes in imi. the proposed dynamic ndea model is applied using real operational data of the imi gathered through a sixty-month planning horizon. an attempt has been accomplished to form a relationship between the total efficiency of process and the efficiency of each sub-process by a regression analysis. the managers of imi can monitor the efficiency score of main process and sub-processes during planning horizon which can help to improve inefficient sub-process.