Author(s): Romildo Camargo Martins, Michel Constantino, Rildo Vieira de Araújo, Jonas Benevides Correia, Micaella Lima Nogueira, Adriana Bilar Chaquime dos Santos, Reginaldo B. Costa
Credit cooperatives play an important role in promoting regional development around the world. In this scenario one finds the Sicredi Cooperative, which is located in Brazil’s Center- West region, specifically in municipalities of the extreme south of Mato Grosso do Sul state, including the border strip with Paraguay, with a huge lack of information about the economic efficiency of its activities. In this context, the present study aimed to measure and analyze the efficiency border of the Center-South MS Sicredi Cooperative Service Units. The analysis was performed in two stages. We used the product-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis non- parametric model named Variable Returns to Scale and Tobit regression model, as second stage. Sampling involved 24 agencies in the period between 2019 and 2021. We determined efficiency scores from the analysis of the variables personnel, administrative expenses, capital stock, credit operations, and operational spillovers, extracted from agencies’ financial statements. Results showed gaps capable of adjustments between pure technique efficiency (obtained by the Variable Returns to Scale border) and scale efficiency (Constant Returns to Scale/Variable Returns to Scale), suggesting margins of adjustment for the improvement of the cooperative’s performance. The analysis in second stage showed that personnel expenses and operational spillovers impacted negatively efficiency, while credit operation showed a consistent positive effect. It is worth noting that humanized management and cooperativism are valued even with the limitations found for assessing collaborators’ individual performance. Therefore, this trend for the variables should be monitored in future studies