The interval efficiency based on the optimistic and pessimistic points of view

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a data-oriented approach for evaluating the performances of a set of peer entities called decision-making units (DMUs), whose performance is determined based on multiple measures. The traditional DEA, which is based on the concept of efficiency frontier (output frontier), determines the best efficiency score that can be assigned to each DMU. Based on these scores, DMUs are classified into DEA-efficient (optimistic efficient) or DEA-non-efficient (optimistic non-efficient) units, and the DEA-efficient DMUs determine the efficiency frontier. There is a comparable approach which uses the concept of inefficiency frontier (input frontier) for determining the worst relative efficiency score that can be assigned to each DMU. DMUs on the inefficiency frontier are specified as DEA-inefficient or pessimistic inefficient, and those that do not lie on the inefficient frontier, are declared to be DEA-non-inefficient or pessimistic non-inefficient. In this paper, we argue that both relative efficiencies should be considered simultaneously, and any approach that considers only one of them will be biased. For measuring the overall performance of the DMUs, we propose to integrate both efficiencies in the form of an interval, and we call the proposed DEA models for efficiency measurement the bounded DEA models. In this way, the efficiency interval provides the decision maker with all the possible values of efficiency, which reflect various perspectives. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the application of the proposed DEA models. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.