A STRATEGIC COOPERATIVE GAME-THEORETIC MODEL FOR MARKET SEGMENTATION WITH APPLICATION TO BANKING IN EMERGING ECONOMIES

Market segmentation is essential to target efficaciously core-segment customers and to obtain a competitive advantage. Firms when confronted by the range of market segments, have difficulty in deciding the core-segment customers who are the most probable purchasers of their product and services. We propose a novel fuzzy group multi-criteria method for market entry and segment evaluation and selection. This proposed method provides a comprehensive and systematic framework that combines bi-level multi-objective optimization with real option analysis (ROA) and fuzzy cooperative n-person game theory. The contribution of the proposed segment evaluation and selection method is fivefold: (1) it addresses the gaps in the marketing literature on the efficacious and effective assessment of market segments; (2) it provides a comprehensive and systematic framework that combines bi-level multi-objective optimization with ROA and fuzzy cooperative n-person game theory; (3) it considers fuzzy logic and fuzzy sets to represent ambiguous, uncertain or imprecise information; (4) it does not insist on consensus but synthesizes a representative outcome based on qualitative judgments and quantitative data; and (5) it is applicable to national and international market segmentation. The practical application of this proposed framework illustrates the efficacy of the procedures and algorithms.