An insight into the specification of the input-output set for DEA-based bank efficiency measurement

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) has become one of the most widely used instruments for measuring bank efficiency. However, its application encounters many problems, which is evidenced by continuous evolvements in the DEA method so far. Our paper addresses the pitfalls of DEA in the context of measuring bank efficiency, with focus on the specification of performance factors. We aim at examining whether the input-output specification for banks in DEA applications is in consistence with the criteria upon which banks make decisions. Four bank behaviour models which are most popularly employed to determine input and output factors in DEA studies—the intermediation approach, production approach, user cost approach and value added approach—are comprehensively discussed and reviewed. The comparative reflection on the bank behaviour models and the standard DEA models shows that the input-output related pitfalls of a DEA application are associated with its implicitly fixed preference structure, flexible weight determination and limited explanatory power. Due to the pitfalls, the conventional DEA models may fail to capture bank behaviours. In such cases, DEA results can hardly reflect the performance in its true sense, i.e. how banks perform against the goals that they decide to pursue. The findings suggest focusing on (DEA-based) performance measurement from a goal-oriented perspective, i.e. from the point of view of multi criteria decision making.