Plastics cluster members and their competitors – DEA benchmarking study

Abstract

This paper presents a benchmark analysis of 13 companies. Companies were selected by an expert's judgement from the sample of plastic manufacturers. These companies exhibit similar product characteristics. We propose Data Envelopment Analysis as a benchmarking tool. Nine of the selected companies are Plastics cluster members. Based on balance sheet and profit & loss statement figures from the period 2012-2013 technologic set was estimated by Variable Returns to Scale technique. Results are presented in scatter plot and described in more detail with reference to companies' peers (companies which are similar to a particular company and which highly influence efficiency estimates). Five out of six companies which constitute technology frontier are Plastics cluster members. These findings cannot be, however, considered as evidence for positive effect of cluster membership on higher efficiency. Research design is not experimental and the selected method serves only as a comparison method, not an inferential tool.