In Chinese photovoltaic (PV) industry, business groups and overseas listing with respect to specialized operation and domestic listing became two prevalent management practices. The previous studies mainly focus on the impact of business groups and overseas listing on the performance of the firms. However, they neglect the performance comparison of different business models or listing markets. In this paper, we formulate an input-orientated dynamic SBM model, which emphasizes the excesses in input and carry-over resources and enhances the accuracy of the evaluation, to measure the operational efficiency of Chinese PV producers and further explore the impact of business models as well as listing markets on the performance of PV companies. Some managerial findings are concluded in the end and can be referred to by the existing and future PV investors. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.