Productivity and customer satisfaction in Swedish pharmacies.: A DEA network model

This paper presents a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) network model that allows inclusion of customer satisfaction in efficiency and productivity measures. The network consists of a production node and a consumption node and offers flexibility in modelling the production and consumption process where a firm-specific allocation of input resources to production and customer oriented activities is allowed. The proposed model is applied on a sample of Swedish pharmacies with organizational objectives that necessitates a monitoring of efficiency and productivity as well as customer satisfaction. Estimation results from the network model and a direct productivity model (without customer satisfaction) are compared and indicate that the technical efficiency is lower under the network model. The productivity results indicate productivity progress under both models, albeit with a slower rate of change under the network model. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.