Measuring Technical Efficiency and Returns to Scale in Taiwan’s Baking Industry―A Case Study of the 85 °C Company

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This is an interesting article on a topic of interest and it is my pleasure to review it.

The research is solid and based on rigorous analysis. However, the technical /managerial approach should be accompanied by a consistent emphasis on sustainability and practical implications.

The paper occasionally deals with the aspect of sustainability, more as a pretext than a goal, or to substantiate the results and recommendations. The paper doesn’t have (with one exception, in the literature review) even a reference to sustainability. No other key elements that define sustainability (as environment, resources, social commitment, communities etc.) do not appear, or are used in productive / "industrial" contexts. The analysis is determined to increase performance, and implicitly profitability, market-share, cost reduction, i.e. tangible effects on shareholders, intrinsic value of the company, sales growth, and less positive effects on stakeholders, environment, local communities, or resource efficiency, eco-friendly approaches etc.

As the paper analyses a particular company (even a representative one), the authors should insist more on the relevance of the results, the flexibility of the method, the possibilities of replication, the practical utility. The fact that they do it in abstract (only) The research results are valuable for policy makers, managers and processing company owners, especial for companies of bakery related industry  (rows 25-26), (how?) it is not enough or encouraging for an academic debate.

There are sentences in Abstract and Conclusions that are almost identical:  The results show that the timely change of operational strategy has a major impact on improving operational efficiency. In addition, there is a positive relationship between return on assets (ROA) and technical efficiency indicates that the 85°C company financial performance is dependent upon a producer's  ability to stay on the production frontier. (rows 21-25)

AND

The results show that the timely change of operational strategy has a major impact on improving operational efficiency. In addition, there is a positive relationship between ROA and technical efficiency. (…) this is finding indicates that the 85° C company financial performance is dependent upon a producer's ability to stay on the production frontier (approx.  rows  412 – 419)

We recommend enriching deductions and (if possible) rephrasing the existing ones, especially in the Conclusions section, which is schematically and quickly addressed. This final section should also consider other elements such as the integration of research into literature on other similar topic, the specificity and the novelty of this contribution, but also the limits of the research and, as far as possible, future research directions to address some of these limitations, academic debates on the topics in question etc.

Other

1. The Abstract begins too sharply, with a brief description of the results. It is recommendable to introduce here the context of the problem, the motivation, the research method and then to present the results.

2. Literature Review begins with 2-1. Study Enterprise: 85 ° C, which is not a literature review at all, but a description of the company's evolution. We recommend that the Literature review section begin with 2-2. Review of studies, and then to find a suitable place to describe the evolution stages of the analysed company.

3. Being an atypical name, the 85 ° C Bakery Café company is lost in context, making it difficult to read the text. Ex.  baking company (85 ° C) of Taiwan .... or ….  a well-known baking company (85 ° C). We recommend highlighting this name (in italics, or using quotation marks, etc.).

Author Response

Please find our  response attached.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

This is an interesting paper that could be potentially publishable subject to some revisions that are discussed in more detail below.

 

Detailed comments

 

Research design - Methods:

Discuss on uncertainty and sensitivity to outliers in DEA.

Return On Assets (ROA): Justify the selection of ROA (for comparison with DEA scores) with other financial performance indicators for the particular industry.

 

Results: Discuss on uncertainty in DEA results.

DEA is sensitive to outliers. Please discuss.

Discuss on the generalization of the results of the study.

Implications: Discuss on both methodological and practical implications of the study.

 

Limitations: Discuss on the limitations of the study, if there are any.

 

Future research: Discuss on the avenues for future research.

Author Response

Please find our response attached.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf