Assessment of differences in efficiency across strategic groups in the container shipping context: a data envelopment analysis

This study examines differences in efficiency across strategic groups in the container shipping context using data envelopment analysis of secondary data collected from 17 global container carriers. Global container carriers were classified based on strategic variables such as fleet capacity, asset/debt ratio, owned/chartered-in fleet ratio, non-container revenue ratio, and revenue. Four strategic groups were identified, namely: proactive-prudent, proactive-chance, conservative-prudent and conservative-chance. DEA results indicated significant differences in efficiency across the four strategic groups. The proactive-prudent group had significantly a higher fleet capacity, lower leverage and higher efficiency than the other strategic groups. Theoretical and managerial implications of the research findings are discussed to improve container carriers' operational efficiency.