Technical Efficiency of Cooperative and Non-Cooperative Dairies in Poland: Toward the First Link of the Supply Chain

Katarzyna Ziętek-Kwaśniewska, Maria Zuba-Ciszewska and Joanna Nucińska
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Katarzyna Ziętek-Kwaśniewska: The Institute of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Social Sciences, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
Maria Zuba-Ciszewska: The Institute of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Social Sciences, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
Joanna Nucińska: The Institute of Economics and Finance, Faculty of Social Sciences, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-22

Abstract: Several studies conducted in various countries have addressed the technical efficiency of dairies. However, there is a paucity of research on the technical efficiency of dairies in Poland, particularly in relation to their legal form (i.e., cooperatives vs. non-cooperatives). The existing literature also does not provide insights into the technical efficiency of these entities with respect to different regions’ milk production capacity. Therefore, this paper aims to: (1) evaluate and compare the technical efficiency of cooperative and non-cooperative dairies in Poland, and (2) examine dairies’ technical efficiency due to spatial disparities in milk production potential. We use data envelopment analysis (DEA) to investigate the technical efficiency of 108 dairies in Poland for the year 2019. The milk production capacity of provinces is examined by applying the zero unitarization method. The results show that when assuming constant returns to scale (CRS), dairy cooperatives are less technically efficient than non-cooperatives, whereas when assuming variable returns to scale (VRS), these differences are not statistically significant. For inefficient dairies, we observe the greatest potential for improvement in labor costs and depreciation. Both cooperatives and non-cooperatives operate mostly under decreasing returns to scale. Thus, the potential for enhancing the technical efficiency of dairies through the consolidation process seems to be exploited. Our findings reveal that the technical efficiency of dairies in Poland is not differentiated by regional milk production potential.

Keywords: technical efficiency; cooperatives; dairy processing sector; sustainability; milk production capacity; supply chain; data envelopment analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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