In this paper we investigate the question of whether a high degree of cargo business improves the operational efficiency of a mixed passenger/cargo airline. We use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to compute the efficiency scores for major airlines in the world and then carry out non-parametric statistical tests. Using data for 29 airlines during the period 1998-2002, we find that airlines with a high share of cargo business in their overall operations are significantly more efficient than airlines with a low share of cargo business. On the other hand, no statistically significant differences are found between airlines with similar degrees of cargo business. Managerial and policy implications of our results are also discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to explore which financial performance indicators (FPIs) evaluate the level of supply chain capability (SCC) that explicitly touches all of the business functions and processes within and beyond the company. The authors investigated nine FPIs that were selected from the financial statements of 155 companies within nine industries from 2011 to 2017 using Morningstar financial database and Gartner’s report. The authors find that suitable FPIs to measure SCC for shareholders’ value are return-on-assets (ROA), days-sales-outstanding (DSO), and current ratio (CR). This means that higher ROA, shortened DSO, and an appropriate level of CR could reach a sustainable supply chain. These results will help the industry to avert a major disruption in supply chain processes and activities using suitable financial performance indicators.

There are many studies on supply chain performances but few of them attempt to measure the perception of partnership and risk on performance and the importance of those perceptions to the supply chain. Perception of partnership and risk often affects performance. This study attempts to present empirical study results on the performance of supply chain partnerships and risk using the importance-performance analysis (IPA) model with samples from business establishments in small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in China and Korea. This study reviewed 198 valid returns (128 from Chinese firms and 70 from Korean firms, a return rate of 44%) and found there are significant differences in perception of performance and importance between the two countries especially in the supplier-customer relationship area. The findings raise some useful implications and information for companies in both countries to consider in building and maintaining a sustainable supply chain in the future. This study hopes to simulate additional discussions on this topic using the IPA model.