A multiple criteria group decision-making approach for the assessment of small and medium-sized enterprise competitiveness

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 480-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joana M. Gonçalves ◽  
Fernando A.F. Ferreira ◽  
João J.M. Ferreira ◽  
Luís M.C. Farinha
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Cognitive Mapping ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Constructivist Epistemology ◽  
Study Context

PurposeSmall- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have become increasingly important in national and international markets because they contribute to the development of local and national economies. SMEs often face serious challenges when competing with multinational companies. The purpose of this paper is to develop a method for assessing SMEs’ competitiveness.Design/methodology/approachBased on a constructivist epistemology, this study makes an integrated use of cognitive mapping and the measuring attractiveness by a categorical-based evaluation technique (MACBETH). To this end, face-to-face sessions were conducted with a panel of entrepreneurs and senior managers who deal with the challenges of maintaining SME competitiveness every day. The proposed assessment system was tested and validated by the panel members.FindingsThe methodological processes adopted in this study provide promising results for decision makers seeking to identify the most competitive SMEs. Specifically, the results emphasize, among other points, the importance of innovation and the human dimension to gaining competitive advantages.Research limitations/implicationsThe evaluation system developed in this study is extremely versatile and confirms the usefulness of integrating cognitive mapping and MACBETH to facilitate evaluations of SME competitiveness. However, due to its idiosyncratic and process-oriented nature, generalizations need to be done with caution.Practical implicationsThe proposed method can be valuable to researchers seeking to develop mechanisms for evaluating SMEs’ entrepreneurial performance and include specialized know-how and sensemaking in organizational decision-making processes.Originality/valueThe integrated use of cognitive maps and MACBETH contributes to a better understanding of how to assess SMEs’ competitiveness. No prior work reporting the use of this dual methodology in this study context has been found.

scholarly journals The voice of dwellers – developing a place brand by listening to its residents

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulla Hakala
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Conceptual Development ◽  
Place Branding ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
E Mail

Purpose Listening to the customers has long been a key phrase and success element in product branding. This paper aims to highlight the importance of listening to residents during the branding of a place. The study explores ways of listening to residents to ensure they are heard and also discusses the challenges and benefits related to place branding flowing from having residents participate in decision-making processes. Design/methodology/approach Listening to residents and offering opportunities to participate requires place branders to fully attend to, comprehend and respond to residents’ comments, requests, ideas and feedback. This study reports on how two Nordic cities – Turku and Helsinki – listen to their residents. The data used comprise face-to-face interviews, telephone and e-mail conversations and documentary material. Findings Residents should not be considered as one homogeneous target; participation options and channels should be adapted to the demographics and geographic issues of the different regions and resident groups. Research limitations/implications The role of residents and the importance of listening are crucial features in the emerging concept of inclusive place branding (Kavaratzis et al., 2017); its future conceptual development could benefit from the case examples at hand. Practical implications City authorities should listen to residents and provide them with opportunities to actively contribute to decision-making. Other cities could learn from the examples introduced in the paper. Originality/value This paper documents two Nordic examples of cities putting into practice a policy of listening to the residents, a previously neglected research area.

A cognition-driven framework for the evaluation of startups in the digital economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (11) ◽  
pp. 2327-2347
Author(s):  
Jéssica C.M. Simões ◽  
Fernando A.F. Ferreira ◽  
Marta Peris-Ortiz ◽  
João J.M. Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation System ◽  
Cognitive Mapping ◽  
Digital Economy ◽  
Potential Growth ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Combined Use ◽  
Funding Program ◽  
Study Context

PurposeCapital restrictions normally exist in the creation of a startup, requiring investors to analyze funding alternatives in a highly competitive climate. Although different types of incentives to support startups exist, these incentives are only available to those companies that fulfill the requirements of the funding program to which they have applied. Due to social and economic changes introduced by the digital economy, however, existing mechanisms for assessing the potential growth of startups are scarce, outdated or simply incomplete, distorting the results of such evaluations.Design/methodology/approachEvaluating business opportunities and how to exploit them are critical activities for an entrepreneur. This study sought to address this issue through the combined use of cognitive mapping and the Decision EXpert (DEX) technique. Assuming a constructivist stance, the study brought together a panel of experienced entrepreneurs and business investors to identify and articulate the criteria to be considered in the evaluation and classification of startups.FindingsThe evaluation system created in this study was tested, and the results were validated by the expert panel on a collective basis, demonstrating that the dual methodology used can increase our understanding of the decision problem at hand and lead to more informed and potentially better evaluations of the potential growth of startups.Originality/valueThe authors know of no prior work reporting the integrated use of cognitive mapping and DEX in this study context.

A knowledge-based innovation assessment system for small- and medium-sized enterprises: adding value with cognitive mapping and MCDA

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 696-718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina Grillo ◽  
Fernando A.F. Ferreira ◽  
Carla S.E. Marques ◽  
João J. Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Key Management ◽  
Cognitive Mapping ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Rule Base ◽  
Innovation Capability ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Intensive Group ◽  
Study Context

Purpose The 2008 global financial crisis showed that the ability to innovate is a key management skill and that approaches to assessing the innovation capability of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to be as realistic as possible. This study aims to address the latter practical need through a sociotechnical approach. Design/methodology/approach Based on a combined use of cognitive mapping and the Decision EXpert (DEX) technique, and grounded on the insights generated by a panel of SME managers and entrepreneurs in two intensive group meetings, a knowledge-based assessment system for evaluating SMEs’ innovation capability was created, tested and validated. Findings The knowledge-based assessment system identified the most innovative SMEs in a sample of companies. The “plus-minus-1” and dominance analyses carried out provided further support for the results. Research limitations/implications The proposed system is extremely versatile but process-oriented and idiosyncratic in nature, meaning that extrapolations to other contexts need to be done with due caution. Practical implications The panel of SME decision makers agreed that the system improves the current methods used to evaluate SMEs’ innovation capability, contributing to a more informed perspective on management issues. The panel members also noted that the proposed system functions as a learning mechanism, facilitating the development of well-focused suggestions for improvements SMEs can make. Originality/value The integrated use of cognitive maps and rule-base decisions contributes to a better understanding of how to assess SMEs’ innovation capability. No prior work reporting the integrated use of these two techniques in this study context has been found.

Place development for international retirement migrants: a decision-making process model

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-468
Author(s):  
Ann Suwaree Ashton ◽  
Noel Scott ◽  
Therdchai Choibamroong
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Retirement Migration ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Analyse Data

Purpose This study aims to investigate the decision-making processes of international retirement migrants. The development of a place in response to the high demand for international retirement migration has become an important strategy for stakeholders within host destinations; of particular interest is international retirement migrant behaviour and intention to stay and retire in a foreign country. Design/methodology/approach This research presents the results of a qualitative study using face-to-face interview techniques. Content analysis technique was used to analyse data from interviews with 33 international retirees in Thailand. Findings Destination stakeholders must consider creating awareness of the destination through WOM, trustworthy websites and government channels, which migrants evaluate a destination based on pre-retirement visits that create attachment and emotional feelings for the place, and finally, the decision-making processes of short stay, semi-permanent and permanent migrants. Research limitations/implications This qualitative study investigated migrants from Europe, Australia and the USA. An understanding of IR migrants from Asia needs further research. Practical implications The results can be used as guidelines for government, hospitality and tourism stakeholders. IR migrants want different destination attributes to mainstream tourists, especially a peaceful environment, mild weather (not too cold or hot), and to live among locals. Originality/value This study examines migrant decision-making processes. The results provide a theoretical foundation for how IR migrants decide to retire overseas. This comprises three components: destination awareness, secondly, evaluation of the destination’s resources, and finally, the decision and implementation of their plans.

scholarly journals Internal processes in decision-making (mental, emotional, cultural, ethical and spiritual) of Afghan business leaders

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mujeeb ur Rahman Ibneatheer ◽  
Pierre Rostan ◽  
Alexandra Rostan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Emotional Process ◽  
Managerial Decisions ◽  
Poor Person ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand, which internal processes (mental, emotional, cultural, ethical and spiritual) Afghan business leaders use when making managerial decisions. Design/methodology/approach Primary data were collected through 1-h face-to-face interviews with Afghan business leaders. Interviews were conducted through open-ended questions in a semi-structured format. This method was considered most appropriate to acquire an understanding of senior executives’ interpretation and usage of decision-making processes. The method of analyzing data was thematic analysis where the researchers identified common themes, topics, ideas and patterns of meaning that come up repetitively. The objective of the analysis was to determine the most frequent decision-making processes by business leaders and the reasons for using these processes. Findings Although the usage of internal processes in decision-making are not homogeneous among Afghan business leaders, some of the processes are used more frequently than others such as mental, cultural and ethical processes. During the mental process of decision-making, the majority of leaders use intuitional decision-making, the minority using logic. Regarding the cultural dimension, the majority of leaders stated that they have an open, friendly, caring organization for each employee and horizontal culture in their organization. The minority indicated that they have a friendly culture but they also considered the processes and hierarchy in their organization. Considering the ethical process of decision-making, leaders stated that their priorities are more ethical than getting extra profit. They believe that profit will be generated while considering ethical values. As a leader noted: when you consider ethics and fulfill your obligations, the profit automatically generates. Most leaders use the internal process of emotion in their decision-making, but the usage has not been frequent. The emotional process of decision-making is more involved when the human factor is involved. For instance, one of the participants stated “I did not fire an employee that I had to because he was a needy and poor person.” About the spiritual process of decision-making, although all leaders agreed that they have used spirituality in decision-making, its usage varies. About one-third of the leaders mostly rely on spirituality or on religious teachings during the decision-making process, one-third somehow rely on spirituality or religion, about 50% of the time and one-third rely on spirituality between 25% to 30% of the time. Originality/value This study is pilot research as no previous research was carried out on this topic, therefore, it provides a basis of literature on the usage of internal processes on decision-making in Afghanistan. The findings may differ in other economic and national contexts.

Service decision-making processes at three New York state cooperative public library systems

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 418-432
Author(s):  
Xiaoai Ren
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New York ◽  
New York State ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
York State ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
And Cluster Analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look at the organizational structure and service provisions of cooperative public library systems in New York State. The study also seeks to ask questions of how cooperative public library systems decide what services to provide. Design/methodology/approach – Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and cluster analysis were applied on New York State public library systems’ 2008 annual reports to generate quantitative profiles of public library systems and their service transactions. Three cooperative public library systems displaying different service features were purposefully selected for further study of their service decision-making processes. The face-to-face and phone interviews were adopted in the study. Findings – Research findings from this study provide information on specific service variations across cooperative public library systems. The findings also provide differences of service decision-making processes in addition to the factors that might cause these differences. Originality/value – This study adds knowledge of public library systems’ management and organizational structures, therefore fills a knowledge gap on public library systems. It can also serve as the baseline for future studies using newer annual report data and therefore to study the changing roles and services of cooperative public library systems in New York State.

Role of personal values in investment decisions

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 940-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otuo Serebour Agyemang ◽  
Abraham Ansong
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Investment Decision ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Investment Decision Making ◽  
Recent Emergence ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Purpose This paper aims to examine the role personal values play in investment decision-making processes among Ghanaian shareholders. Design/methodology/approach In consequence of the recent emergence of the issue of corporate governance practices in Ghana, and the kind of the research objective of this paper, a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. These methods were used in two stages. The first stage was qualitative, which purposively selected 20 individual shareholders to solicit their perspectives on how personal values influence investment decisions. Their responses were used to construct the content of this enquiry. The second stage, which was quantitative, used stratified sampling technique to select 503 individual shareholders to confirm the responses obtained from stage one of the enquiry. Findings The findings of the study reveal that individual shareholders in Ghana hold value priorities and that honesty, a comfortable life and family security play a significant role in their lives and their investment decision-making processes, and the kind of companies they choose to invest in. Also, to Ghanaian individual shareholders, there is a clear distinction between a comfortable life and a prosperous life in the sense that they are not incentivized more by the latter but by the former in their investment decisions. Practical implications The results can inform corporate directors and managers what values are considered in investment decisions, and that it is not purely financial. With these results, they can be informed that while some financial values are important, it is just to live a comfortable life and not a prosperous life. This may influence these directors and managers to have a more long-run focus and to have more of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) focus by putting implementable measures in place to tackle corporate responsibility issues and to take up a responsibility for their CSR feat. Also, the results can be used for public policy in that if regulators find out that more CSR-type information is important to investors, they might require additional CSR-type disclosures in financial statements. Originality/value This paper contributes to the knowledge on the stakeholder perspective of corporate governance that individual shareholders’ personal values have influence on their investment decisions and the choice of companies they invest in.

A decision-making formula for value engineering applications in the Sri Lankan construction industry

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gayani Karunasena ◽  
Kosala Rajagalgoda Gamage
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Cognitive Mapping ◽  
Value Engineering ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regulatory Bodies ◽  
Research Outcome ◽  
Analyse Data

Purpose The construction industry in many developing countries is reluctant to apply value engineering (VE) due to uncertainty of outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to examine the existing practices of VE techniques and make recommendations to organisations and national construction regulatory bodies, to standardise VE practices. A decision-making formula is introduced to determine profitability of VE applications prior to implementation. Design/methodology/approach A broad literature review and six case study projects that applied VE were selected. Thirty-nine semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data within cases. Six expert interviews were conducted as confirmatory interviews to clarify and validate research outcome. Content analysis and cognitive mapping were used to analyse data among case studies. Findings Application, knowledge and experience on VE techniques among construction professionals are unsatisfactory. Recommendations include reducing contractor’s design responsibility, introducing proper VE guidelines and statutory regulations. A framework is introduced to assist authorities to standardise application of VE techniques. A decision-making formula is suggested to determine margins of contractor’s portion due to VE techniques and original profits gained. Originality/value The formula can be used as a decision-making tool by construction industry practitioners to determine successfulness of proposed VE techniques, and the proposed framework can be used to guide construction professional bodies to standardise VE practices.

Thinking styles, gender, and decision making in Latin American management

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camelia Ilie ◽  
Guillermo Cardoza
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Thinking Styles ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Purpose Many studies have analyzed how gender diversity and local culture condition the cognitive styles of managers and affect decision-making processes in organizations. Gender diversity has been defended from an equality perspective; it has been argued to improve decision-making processes and to have a positive impact on companies’ return on investment. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the differences between the thinking styles of men and women, in Latin America and the USA that support decision-making processes. An argument is given in favor of gender diversity in management teams, because of its positive implications in decision making. Design/methodology/approach The measurement instrument used was the Neethling Brain Instrument, developed based on recent neuroscience discovery. The sample comprised 1,216 executives from the USA and several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, who have participated in executive training programs. Findings The results show differences in thinking styles by gender, but no differences were found in thinking styles or decision making between men and women at the same managerial level in either of the two regions. Similarly, results suggest that executives in the USA tend to base their management models on strategic thinking styles that focus on interpersonal relations and involve risk taking, while executives in Latin American countries tend to prefer thinking and management styles focusing on data analysis, execution, planning, and process control. Originality/value The results of the present study show that, in all regions, men score higher in rational thinking styles associated with the cortical areas, while women gravitate toward thinking styles where emotional schemes prevail, related to subcortical areas. These results could be useful for organizational leaders in charge of allocating roles and tasks to people, based on their thinking style strengths. The results can also be very valuable for Latin American organizations to design specific training and development programs for men and women accordingly with their individual needs and their managerial roles. They can also support the argument that diverse gender teams will guarantee complete decision-making processes.

Risk quantification in cold chain management: a federated learning-enabled multi-criteria decision-making methodology

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Lau ◽  
Yung Po Tsang ◽  
Dilupa Nakandala ◽  
Carman K.M. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Handling Time ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Pairwise Comparisons ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Making ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type

PurposeIn the cold supply chain (SC), effective risk management is regarded as an essential component to address the risky and uncertain SC environment in handling time- and temperature-sensitive products. However, existing multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches greatly rely on expert opinions for pairwise comparisons. Despite the fact that machine learning models can be customised to conduct pairwise comparisons, it is difficult for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to intelligently measure the ratings between risk criteria without sufficiently large datasets. Therefore, this paper aims at developing an enterprise-wide solution to identify and assess cold chain risks.Design/methodology/approachA novel federated learning (FL)-enabled multi-criteria risk evaluation system (FMRES) is proposed, which integrates FL and the best–worst method (BWM) to measure firm-level cold chain risks under the suggested risk hierarchical structure. The factors of technologies and equipment, operations, external environment, and personnel and organisation are considered. Furthermore, a case analysis of an e-grocery SC in Australia is conducted to examine the feasibility of the proposed approach.FindingsThroughout this study, it is found that embedding the FL mechanism into the MCDM process is effective in acquiring knowledge of pairwise comparisons from experts. A trusted federation in a cold chain network is therefore formulated to identify and assess cold SC risks in a systematic manner.Originality/valueA novel hybridisation between horizontal FL and MCDM process is explored, which enhances the autonomy of the MCDM approaches to evaluate cold chain risks under the structured hierarchy.

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