Comparing the productivity of major shipyards in China, South Korea, and Japan – an application of a metafrontier framework

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to measure the productivity of 21 major shipyards in China, South Korea and Japan.Design/methodology/approachData envelopment analysis was applied to measure the productivity of shipyards. The contemporaneous and intertemporal productivity scores of each shipyard were measured. Additionally, the technical gaps among shipyards in China, South Korea and Japan were measured and compared.FindingsThe results indicate that Japan led the global shipbuilding industry in 2014 and South Korea dominated in 2015. Additionally, from 2014 to 2015, shipyards in South Korea and Japan maintained their levels of productivity. Comparatively, major shipyards in China made substantial progress from 2014 to 2015, revealing their strong ambition to improve productivity.Originality/valueThis study first used a metafrontier framework to measure the technical gap of shipyards among major shipbuilding countries. The model and approach objectively analyze the productivity of major shipyards and considers their nationalities. Additionally, this study is the first to measure changes in the productivity of shipyards. By decomposing the metafrontier Malmquist productivity index, major shipyards were categorized into eight sets. The results of this study can provide a clear direction for shipyards to improve their productivity.