Evaluation Model and Decision Analysis of Digital Firms Ranked in Forbes’ Top Companies

Abstract

This study evaluates the profitability and marketability efficiencies of digital firms ranked in Forbes’ list of top companies by using a two-stage network data envelopment analysis (DEA) model with multiplicative efficiency aggregation under the second-order cone programming (SOCP) and examines the respective impacts of the 1995–2001 dot-com bubble and the 2007–2009 global financial crisis on the companies’ efficiencies by applying impulse response function (IRF) analysis. The data of our 49 sampled companies are derived from the Compustat database. The covered period is 1999–2018. These results present the stable and increasing improvement of profitability and marketability efficiencies; in addition, two crisis events have no significant impact on the performance of digital firms. This research is supposed to offer a reasonable and objective evaluation model to measure the performance of digital firms, providing the managers and investors a reference for making their decision.