Foluso Modupe Adeyinka
The effects of a digital technologies uptake on firm efficiency in the Nigerian manufacturing sector were examined. The combined application of data envelopment analysis and the Tobit regression methods were employed to analyze the cross-sectional survey data derived from a sample of manufacturing firms. The research results showed that the uptake of digital technologies was still skewed to the low-end appliances/devices, whereas the uptake of the high-end digital technologies required to forge the digital transformation of firms was still low. Manufacturing firms in Nigeria need to make a quick transition to high-end digital technologies in order for them to increase their efficiency and competitiveness in the global marketplace. Challenges to the uptake of digital technologies need to be addressed as well. The training/retraining of personnel need be scaled up so as to build the digital capacity of the sector, bolster efficiency and improve the productivity of operations. The importation of digital devices may be an option in the short run, but local production should be ramped up in the long run.
Predrag Mimović and Ana Krstić
The measurement and evaluation of performance are critical for the efficient and effective functioning of the economic system, because this allows for the analysis of the extent to which the defined objectives are achieved. Organizational performance is measured by different methods, both quantitative and qualitative. Many of the known methods for the evaluation and measurement of organizational performance take into account only financial indicators, while ignoring the non-financial ones. The integration of both indicators, through the combined application of multiple methods and the comparison of their results, should provide a more complete and objective picture of organizational performance. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a formal framework for solving complex decision-making problems, as well as a systemic procedure for the hierarchical presentation of the problem elements. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is a nonparametric approach based on linear programming, which allows for the calculation of the efficiency of decision-making units within a group of organizations. The work is an illustration of the method and framework of the combined use of the multi-criteria analysis methods for the measurement and evaluation of the performance of higher education institutions in the Republic of Serbia. The advantages of this approach are reflected in overcoming the shortcomings of a partial application of the AHP and the DEA methods by utilizing a new, hybrid, DEAHP (Data Envelopment Analytic Hierarchy Process) method. Performance evaluation through an integrated application of the AHP and the DEA methods provides more objective results and more reliable solutions to the observed problem, thus creating a valuable information base for high-quality strategic decision making in higher education institutions, both at the national level and at the level of individual institutions.