Assessing Operational Efficiency and Technological Progress: An In-depth Study of China’s E-payment Concept Listed Companies Using DEA-Malmquist Index

Electronic payment (e-payment) enterprises are third-party e-commerce platforms that provide services for buyers and sellers through network service platforms. This study evaluates the operational efficiency of 42 e-payment concept listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2014 to 2019, using the data envelopment analysis (DEA)-Malmquist index model. The research results show that the overall operational efficiency of e-payment concept listed companies is in a good state, but some companies are constrained by constant or decreasing returns to scale, and should improve their management ability, streamline their organization, integrate their internal resources, accelerate their structural adjustment, reduce their invalid input, and increase their output level. Moreover, e-payment related enterprises should increase their research and development investment, pay attention to technological innovation, and enhance their core competitiveness. Facing the ever-changing market and more and more competitors, enterprises should use time and opportunity as competitive resources, seize the initiative, and avoid being eliminated by the market. This study provides a comprehensive and objective evaluation of the operational efficiency of e-payment concept listed companies in China, and offers some suggestions for improving their performance and competitiveness in the e-payment industry.