Evaluating the Technical Efficiency of Rural Cooperatives in Sistan and Baluchestan Province of Iran Using Fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis (FDEA) Model

Since rural cooperatives play an important role in rural economic development, their performance evaluation is of great importance as well. Accordingly, the main objective of this research was to evaluate the technical efficiency of the rural cooperatives in Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran, using the Fuzzy Data Envelopment Analysis (FDEA) technique and compare it with the classical DEA method. For this purpose, the required data of 52 rural cooperatives operating in the studied province in 2016.were collected and analyzed. The indicators used in this study included three inputs (i.e. capital, current costs, and number of vendors) and one output (i.e. profit). The study results showed that there were three efficient rural cooperatives identified in FDEA model while nine ones in the classical DEA method were found efficient; in addition, the mean efficiency score was evaluated 55 percent in the traditional DEA method while 32 percent in FDEA method, indicating low efficiency rates for the rural cooperatives in both methods though the FDEA method had a higher resolution. Therefore, as suggested by the study, comparing inefficient and efficient companies could provide a suitable platform for better utilization of resources so as to improve the technical efficiency of companies.