Marketing productivity and profitability of Indonesian public listed manufacturing firms: An application of data envelopment analysis (DEA)

Purpose: This research tries to fill a gap in research and to suggest a rigorous quantitative approach to benchmarking marketing productivity. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is useful in identifying the best-performing units to be benchmarked against as well as in providing actionable measures for improvement of a company's marketing performance. Design/methodology/approach: This study applied the DEA approach to aid traditional benchmarking activities and to provide guidance to managers, and to evaluate the productivity and efficiency of manufacturing firms listed at the Indonesian Stock Exchange as a result of their marketing activities. The time period observed is 2001-2007. The total number of manufacturing firms observed is 94. Findings: The evidence shows that on average, this industry experienced total productivity decline by over the observation periods, mainly due to deterioration of managerial efficiency. Originality/value: The paper compares public listed manufacturing firms in Indonesia.