Target setting using an enhanced inverse DEA approach: application to Spanish universities

Abstract

This paper proposes a non-oriented, non-radial Inverse Data Envelopment Analysis (InvDEA) approach for target setting. The changes of any input and output dimensions may be fixed. In addition to the corresponding multiobjective optimisation model, the approach includes a prior step that checks the feasibility of the input and output changes that are fixed and revises them if necessary. This Pre-InvDEA model uses Goal Programming (GP) and guarantees the feasibility of those changes. The approach also includes a Post-InvDEA multiobjective optimisation model to optimise the input and output changes given in order to guarantee that the computed target is efficient. The overall target-setting approach is conceived as an interactive process so that the three steps (Pre-InvDEA, InvDEA, and Post-InvDEA) may be run more than once until a satisfactory target is determined. The application of the proposed approach to computing efficient targets for Spanish universities is presented.

Keywords:

• Target setting
• inverse DEA
• multiobjective optimisation
• extended lexicographic GP
• universities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research has been carried out with the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under grant PID2021-124981NB-I00.