Fikru Kefyalew Alemayehu

• Mydland, Ørjan; Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew; Kumbhakar, Subal Chandra & Lien, Gudbrand (2026). How Electric Vehicles Affect Power Distribution Companies’ Efficiency: A Spatial Dependency Analysis. Energy Journal. ISSN 0195-6574. 47(5), s. 87–107. doi: 10.1177/01956574261466630. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The rapid increase in the number of electric vehicles (EVs) in Norway presents both challenges and opportunities for power distribution companies (PDCs). Growing EV adoption increases electricity demand and places pressure on local distribution networks, requiring substantial investments in grid infrastructure. This study examines the impact of EV adoption on distribution costs and technical efficiency using a spatial stochastic frontier analysis applied to a balanced panel data for Norwegian PDCs over the period 2016 to 2021. The results show that higher EV adoption is associated with increased distribution costs, reflecting the need for network reinforcements and grid modernization. At the same time, Norwegian PDCs exhibit generally high levels of technical efficiency, indicating that distribution networks are able to adapt effectively to rising demand. Importantly, we find that spatial dependence in costs operates primarily through correlated random shocks and unobserved factors rather than through inefficiency spillovers. Once spatial dependence is modeled jointly in both inefficiency and noise, we find that spatial correlation is concentrated in the random noise component, suggesting that shared demand pressures, weather conditions, and other common shocks play a central role in shaping observed cost dynamics. These findings highlight the importance of spatial modeling in electricity network regulation, as ignoring spatial dependence may lead to biased efficiency assessments. From a policy perspective, the results underscore the need for coordinated regional planning, smart grid development, and tariff designs that account for spatially correlated demand shocks to ensure a reliable and cost-efficient integration of EVs into electricity distribution systems.

• Alemayehu, Fikru K.; Sun, Kai & Kumbhakar, Subal Chandra (2025). Productivity dynamics, innovation and endogeneity: A semiparametric stochastic frontiers approach. European Journal of Operational Research. ISSN 0377-2217. doi: 10.1016/j.ejor.2025.08.028. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  This research investigates how innovation influences productivity and technical efficiency in the service industry. We apply a novel approach that addresses endogeneity and heterogeneity of environmental variables in the semiparametric smooth coefficient stochastic frontier model framework. For this purpose, we use instruments such as market channels, collaborative innovation efforts, public subsidies, and spending on innovation. Our study relies on data from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) and corporate financial records spanning from 2003 to 2020 in Norway. The findings show a U-shaped direct influence of innovation on productivity (i.e., through total factor productivity), complemented by positive indirect effects (i.e, via inputs) and negative impacts on the efficiency of firms within the Norwegian service sector. The research highlights the diverse impact of innovation across firms and sectors within the service industry, revealing significant heterogeneity in its effects. These findings are crucial for managers and policymakers who want to promote innovation, enhance productivity and efficiency in services, and stimulate innovation-driven growth.

• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew; Alem, Habtamu & Lien, Gudbrand (2025). Assessing the Impact of Organic Farming on Productivity among Norwegian Dairy Farmers: Evidence from a Semi-parametric Production Model. I Awasthi, L. P. (Red.), Advances in Organic Farming. CABI Publishing. ISSN 9781800626836. s. 499–511. doi: 10.1079/9781800626850.0051. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The literature shows that organic farming has become the centre of policies aiming to achieve sustainable agriculture due to its environmental benefits, such as increased biodiversity, reduced greenhouse emissions, etc. However, there is a gap in the literature on the productivity effects of organic farming over and above the conventional method to understand whether widely converting conventional farms pays off. The current study estimated the productivity function using a semi-parametric smooth-coefficient (SPSC) approach based on unbalanced panel data set from Norwegian dairy and crop farms during 1991 to 2020. The results show that organic farming, compared to conventional farming, increase productivity for most of the dairy farms, while for crop farms the effect is mixed. This finding suggests that organic farming for many farms can yield a productivity higher than or equal to conventional farming. However, the results depend on the farm under consideration, and there exists a large degree of heterogeneity among the farms. Likewise, the technical change is heterogeneous, indicating that some farms underwent technical progress (regress) or a neutral change during the study period. Finally, the returns to scale (RTS) are at the mean about 0.89 and 1.05 for dairy and crop farms, respectively, implying that these farms operate at a decreasing (increasing) returns to scale and can improve their productivity by decreasing (increasing) the current scale of operation.

• Alem, Habtamu; Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew; Sipiläinen, Timo & Lien, Gudbrand (2025). Socio-economic Impacts of Organic Farming: Opportunities and Challenges. I Awasthi, L. P. (Red.), Advances in Organic Farming. CABI Publishing. ISSN 9781800626836. s. 519–529. doi: 10.1079/9781800626850.0053. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Organic farming has sparked discussions about environmental sustainability, conservation, health and community involvement. In essence, it represents a broader shift in societal values, paving the way for a more sustainable and socially responsible future that includes all segments of society. This chapter thoroughly investigates the multi-faceted socio-economic impacts of organic agriculture, including economic, social and cultural dimensions. It also addresses the difficulties that farmers face when transitioning to organic farming methods and offers solutions to these difficulties. Its primary goal is to provide readers with the necessary knowledge to capitalize on the socio-economic benefits of organic farming while effectively addressing the associated challenges. The chapter focuses on how organic agriculture can promote sustainable livelihoods, boost economic well-being, and increase social and environmental resilience. It also highlights the potential of organic farming to drive long-term growth and revitalize rural landscapes.

• Hundie, Shemelis Kebede; Abdisa, Lamessa T.; Legas, Habtamu Adane; Shumetie, Arega & Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew (2025). Globalization and environmental sustainability in Ethiopia: Assessing the impact of economic factors and resource management. Journal of Cleaner Production. ISSN 0959-6526. 519, s. 1–16. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.145886. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The globalization-environmental sustainability linkage has become a topic of interest in sustainable development. This study examines the impact of globalization, natural resource rent, and renewable energy consumption on Ethiopia’s ecological sustainability. The study employed an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and dynamic ARDL model using time series data from 1971 to 2018. Findings of the study show that factors such as urbanization, renewable energy consumption, political globalization, and natural resource rents contribute to an upsurge in the ecological footprint, indicating environmental strain. Conversely, the ecological footprint is mitigated by economic globalization, suggesting the potential to slow down environmental deterioration. These f indings emphasize the importance of implementing strategies and plans to manage resources. Considering renewable energy sources is essential for supporting technological advancements and promoting sustainable practices. These actions are essential to regulate the impact of globalization and foster sustainable development.

• Alemayehu, Fikru K & Kumbhakar, Subal C (2024). Spatial analysis of production technology, productivity and innovation. European Review of Agricultural Economics. ISSN 0165-1587. 52(3), s. 462–462. doi: 10.1093/erae/jbae030. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Abstract This study employs a state-of-the-art econometric methodology to investigate the relationship between firm productivity and innovation, considering the spatial heterogeneity of firms and locations. It examines significant variations in productivity and production technologies among firms and locations within Norwegian food and beverage (F&B) manufacturing. Analysing data from 336 firms over 12 years, our findings indicate that geographical location influences production processes, productivity and productivity persistence. This research contributes to existing knowledge by emphasising the influence of spatial heterogeneity on productivity and innovation in the F&B industry. It also recommends integrating geographical variations into regional development policies and firm-level strategies.

• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew; Kumbhakar, Subal Chandra & Lien, Gudbrand (2024). Economic impacts of tourism demand on the European food and accommodation industry. Tourism Economics. ISSN 1354-8166. 31(4), s. 651–669. doi: 10.1177/13548166241283145. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Sustainability strategies have become central topics in the literature on tourism development, given the significant increase in tourism demand in Europe. This study examines the economic (cost) impact of increased tourism demand on the European Food and Accommodation Industry. We employed three distinct models — pooled linear regression, flexible nonparametric, and semiparametric smooth coefficients — using data spanning European countries from 2005 to 2020. Our findings reveal the heterogeneous impacts of tourist arrivals and length of stay on costs. Although the direct effects were predominantly positive, the indirect effects were found to be negative, resulting in a minor overall negative effect on the average. Furthermore, we found that the proportion of domestic tourists has a notable impact on costs, revealing that higher proportions are linked to lower direct costs but higher indirect costs on average. These findings provide valuable insights for industry stakeholders and policymakers alike.

• Hameed, Touseef; Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew & Kumbhakar, Subal Chandra (2024). Green innovation in Norwegian firms: Navigating the complexity of productivity and performance. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. ISSN 0040-1625. 209. doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123786. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew; Tveteraas, Sigbjørn Landazuri & Kumbhakar, Subal Chandra (2023). Effects of management practices for using the SaaS system on performance of hospitality firms in Norway. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism. ISSN 1502-2250. 23(1), s. 114–140. doi: 10.1080/15022250.2023.2174182. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The earlier literature either measured management practices interms of the general management traits or did not account forthe effects onfirm performance. However, the transformation ofthe Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems from general tomore specific practices, the counteractive managerial goals andstandardization and measurement issues requires the measureswith more specific goals in a specific setting. The current paperaims atfilling the gaps in measuring management practices andits effects on production costs and technical efficiency using dailydata of 92 hospitalityfirms, i.e. chain hotels, in Norway from 2012to 2014. We measured management practices in an indexconstructed from multiple criteria that capture managers’userpatterns of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) systems. The empiricalmodel identified inefficiency using a translog stochastic frontierinput distance function (IDF). Thefindings show, on average, a10% improvement in management practices increases productioncosts by 1.2%, but it improves efficiency by 0.9%. However, themarginal effect of improved management practices on theproduction cost is found to be U-shaped, while the marginalimpact on inefficiency gradually declines to zero. The study alsoprovides managerial implications on how to effectively use theERP system and improvefirm performance.

• Muoneke, Obumneke Bob; Okere, Kingsley Ikechukwu & Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew (2023). Interplay between socio-economic challenges, environmental sustainability and the moderating role of government effectiveness in the Med-9 countries. Resources Policy. ISSN 0301-4207. 85. doi: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.104017. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The presence of most Med-9 countries in the periphery regions in Europe compounds the problem of growth disparity and environmental decimation complicating government’s decision on which objective to pursue, this study intends to investigate the moderating role of government effectiveness in socioeconomic challenges and environmental quality nexus in Med-9 countries. The study employed the Instrumental Variable Generalized Method of Moments as its main econometric technique and relied on Augmented Mean Group technique for robustness check. Findings from the IV-GMM analysis showed that the interaction between government effectiveness and urban population increased environmental decay, while the interaction between government effectiveness, public debt, unemployment and net migration offered a mitigating path to environmental sustainability especially at higher levels of government effectiveness. Country-specific analysis unbundles the above results across selected countries in the Med-9 group. Suitable policy recommendations are rendered within the manuscript.

• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew; Kumbhakar, Subal Chandra & Tveteraas, Sigbjørn Landazuri (2022). Estimation of staff use efficiency: Evidence from the hospitality industry. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. ISSN 0040-1625. 178, s. 1–10. doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121585. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  We analyze the extent to which hospitality firms overuse staff using a production function model which considers firm heterogeneity and accounts for environmental variables in staff use. We decompose overall staff use inefficiency into transient and persistent inefficiency. To do this, we employ a state-of-the-art stochastic frontier model, which is estimated using daily data on 94 Norwegian hospitality firms from 2010 to 2014. The environmental variables, especially the annual time trend, seasonality, and days of the week are found to exert heterogeneous effects on staffing. The mean transient, persistent, and overall efficiencies of the hospitality firms are 69%, 67%, and 46%, respectively. We find that seasonality (days of the week) decreases (increases) transient inefficiency by about 4%, suggesting significant room for improvement in hospitality staff use.

• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew & Kumbhakar, Subal Chandra (2021). Excess capacity, production technology and technical inefficiency in hospitality sector. Tourism Management. ISSN 0261-5177. 82. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104202. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew & Tveteraas, Sigbjørn Landazuri (2019). Long-run labour flexibility in hospitality: A dynamic common correlated effects approach. Tourism Economics. ISSN 1354-8166. doi: 10.1177/1354816619864802. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew (2025). Lien G., Størdal S., Kumbhakar, S.C., Dakpo, K.H., Alemayehu, F.K. (2025) Do Norwegian farmers over- or under-invest? Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew (2025). Fikru K. Alemayehu, Kai Sun and Subal C. Kumbhakar (2025). Spatial Spillover Effects with Varying Coefficients. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Alem, Habtamu; Kumbhakar, Subal Chandra & Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew (2024). Unpredictable Yet Influential: Weather Patterns and Crop Production Efficiency in Norway. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew; Kumbhakar, Subal Chandra & Lien, Gudbrand (2023). Spatial analysis of production technology, productivity, and innovation. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew; Kumbhakar, Subal & Sun, Kai (2023). Leveraging innovation for improved service productivity: Insights from endogenous stochastic frontier analysis. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew; Kumbhakar, Subal C. & Lien, Gudbrand (2023). Unraveling Endogeneity in Estimating Productivity and Efficiency: Insights from the Norwegian Service Sector. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew (2022). Economic Sustainability of Increased Tourism in Europe: Direct and Indirect Cost Impacts. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew (2022). Estimation of Staff Efficiency: Evidence from Hospitality Industry (Presentation). Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew & Tveteraas, Sigbjørn Landazuri (2019). Fleksibel bemanning og produktivitet i norske hoteller. Hotell, restaurant & reiseliv (Reiseliv Publishing). ISSN 0806-0029. 19(6), s. 20–20. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew & Tveterås, Sigbjørn (2017). Labour Demand Flexibility: Do Strategy and Room Capacity Matter? Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  This study investigates service operators' ability to match staff hours to the changing demand in a business environment characterized by relatively stricter labour regulations and a large share of employees organized in labour unions. We use panel time series techniques to estimate a dynamic labour demand. Specifically, we use an error correction model based on a daily data for 94 hotels belonging to three different chains over twelve years. The result shows that daily staff adjustment is quite flexible in adjusting to changing demand levels. However, the adjustment pattern varies with the size of hotels and across hotel chains. These variations likely reflect underlying differences in the availability of skilled labour and differences in strategies. The paper further discusses short run and long run elasticities of labour demand to point out the variation further and provide managerial implications.

• Alemayehu, Fikru Kefyalew & Tveterås, Sigbjørn (2016). Adjusting staff hours to the changing room demand: Evidence from Norway. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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