Relative Roles of Debt to Equity Ratio and Technology in Toll Roads Operation Management

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyze toll road’s efficiency performance in Indonesia within 2018-2022 period.Using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method, the efficiency of operating costs and maintenance costs is assessed for 20 toll road sections in Indonesia. Additionally, the study employs the Tobit regression technique to examine the impact of Capital Structure (proxied by Debt-to-Equity Ratio) and technological sophistication (proxied by Gross Domestic Product - GDP) on the efficiency of Toll Road Companies. The analysis reveals that the efficiency level of Toll Companies remains relatively constant during 2018-2020 but experiences a significant decline in 2021-2022. DER is found to have a significant positive effect on Toll Road Companies’ efficiency, suggesting that BUJT management should carefully consider debt and equity costs when determining the capital structure composition. Conversely, the sophistication of corporate technology exhibits a significant negative effect on Toll Road Companies’ efficiency. This outcome arises from the high costs associated with the procurement and maintenance of advanced technology. Moreover, the implementation of new technology may temporarily reduce efficiency due to the time and resources required for employee training and adapting to new work processes and systems. This research aims to provide the management authorities for toll road’s performance assesment indicators by investigating toll road efficiency.