performance eva‎luation of the petrochemical company in the stock market from the perspective of profitability: network data envelopment analysis approach

4/29/2026 12:00:00 AM

Nowadays, petrochemical companies play a crucial role in the country’s economy, contributing significantly to the production and export of strategic products. Given the importance of profitability in this industry and the presence of these companies in financial markets such as the stock exchange and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, accurately eva‎luating their performance and profitability is essential. Therefore, this study adopts a multi-objective decision-making approach to analyze and assess the profitability of petrochemical companies. The main objective of this research is to develop a comprehensive model for eva‎luating the efficiency and profitability of 32 petrochemical companies listed in the stock exchange and OTC markets based on various financial and non-financial criteria. In this study, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used as a tool to measure efficiency and productivity. By considering different inputs and outputs, this method enables a comparative assessment of the relative performance of petrochemical companies. Additionally, due to the complex and networked structure of these companies, which include multiple production and distribution units, network models have been employed to analyze internal and external interdependencies. Subsequently, a multi-objective decision-making approach was used to examine the profitability of companies based on various financial and operational objectives, such as return on investment, net profit, and operational efficiency. To validate the research indicators, the statistical population included all experts in the petrochemical industry, such as senior and mid-level managers, university professors, and others. The sample was selected using a non-probability convenience sampling method. A total of 59 expert participants were surveyed, and efforts were made to collect responses primarily through face-to-face interactions. The structure of each petrochemical company in performance eva‎luation was modeled as a two-stage network, where the first stage produced desirable outputs and the second stage generated undesirable outputs, such as greenhouse gas emissions. The findings of this study indicate that, among the 32 selected companies, five companies were identified as efficient based on key performance indicators, including environmental costs, investment, production costs, sales revenue, human resources, gross profit, net profit, return on equity (ROE), greenhouse gas emissions, and production volume. Ultimately, after ranking these companies, improvement measures were proposed for inefficient petrochemical companies based on each key indicator. The use of multi-objective models and network analysis in eva‎luating petrochemical companies' profitability can facilitate better decision-making for managers and investors. This analytical framework provides a comprehensive insight into companies' financial and operational performance, leading to improved managerial decisions and increased profitability in this critical industry.

تصميمگيري چند هدفه , سودآوري , تحليل پوششي دادهها , تحليل پوششي دادههاي شبكه- اي , پتروشيمي , بورس , فرابورس , كارا , ناكارا , واحدهاي تصميمگيرنده

Multi-objective decision-making , profitability , Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) , Network Data Envelopment Analysis (NDEA) , petrochemical , stock exchange , OTC market , Efficient , Inefficient , Decision Making Units (DMUs)

pouria jahanbakhsh

Saeed Mirzamohammadi