Title: Productivity assessment for academic institutions using DEA-Malmquist productivity index

Authors: Geo Kuruvila George; Georgy P. Kurien

Addresses: CHRIST (Deemed to be University), School of Business and Management, Bengaluru, India ' CHRIST (Deemed to be University), School of Business and Management, Bengaluru, India

Abstract: The paper aims to study productivity change in the education sector. The productivity study, considering a group of educational institutes, helps in framing policies and bringing changes that help improve the quality of education. This efficient benchmarking tool allows institutions to learn from the best practices of other successfully running institutions. The study is based on a non-statistical DEA-based Malmquist productivity index for calculating the productivity change in institutions. Thirteen colleges in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, were selected by non-probability judgmental sampling. The fixed base method and Euclidean distance ensures homogeneity in the sample. Single, double, and three decomposition helps identify the reason for the growth, progress, or stagnation in technical change, technological change, scale efficiency change, or frontier change. This paper fulfils an identified need to understand how productivity calculation helps institutions frame better policies and take necessary action that helps them be productive.

Keywords: productivity; data envelopment analysis; DEA; Malmquist productivity index; MPI; benchmarking; quality assurance; higher education institutions.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2026.152582

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2026 Vol.53 No.3, pp.267 - 289

Received: 04 Sep 2023
Accepted: 15 Nov 2023
Published online: 30 Mar 2026 *

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