Unveiling the relation between the challenges and benefits of Operational Excellence and Industry 4.0: A Hybrid Fuzzy Decision-Making Approach

Operational excellence (OpEx) is a direction toward learning and developing an excellent culture in all aspects of an organization. To reach this culture, revolutionizing activities using industry 4.0 (i4.0) technologies might be a significant empowering tool. This study aims to identify the challenges and benefits of both concepts and investigate their interrelationship to be considered in applying industry 4.0 technologies toward operational excellence. The challenges and benefits of OpEx and i4.0 are identified and finalized by reviewing the literature. The causal relations between the considered factors are extracted using the fuzzy DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) method. Then, the analytical network process (ANP) is applied to determine the importance and weight of the factors (challenges and benefits of OpEx and i4.0) according to the constructed network. The findings illustrated a strong network structure between the factors. First, the causal factors included OpEx and i4.0 challenges, while the OpEx challenges also affected the i4.0 challenges. Both group challenges had a significant effect on OpEx and i4.0 benefits. This means that challenges are the causal factors to be considered in the alignment of i4.0 toward OpEx. Among the OpEx challenges, lack of strategic planning and proper infrastructure were the main influential factors. In contrast, lack of government support and undeveloped business models were identified as the main challenges of i4.0. OpEx and i4.0 concepts are reviewed, and their pros and cons are studied. Previous studies determined an interaction among these concepts. However, from a practical viewpoint, the relation between the challenges and benefits of i4.0 and OpEx was studied for the first time for their alignment

Introducing a multi-criteria evaluation method using Pythagorean fuzzy sets: A case study focusing on resilient construction project selection

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Project selection is a critical decision for any organization seeking to commission a large-scale construction project. Project selection is a complex multi-criteria decision-making problem with significant uncertainty and high risks. Fuzzy set theory has been used to address various aspects of project uncertainty, but with key practical limitations. This study aims to develop and apply a novel Pythagorean fuzzy sets (PFSs) approach that overcomes these key limitations. Design/methodology/approach: The study is particular to complex project selection in the context of increasing interest in resilience as a key project selection criterion. Project resilience is proposed and considered in the specific situation of a large-scale construction project selection case study. The case study develops and applies a PFS approach to manage project uncertainty. The case study is presented to demonstrate how PFS is applied to a practical problem of realistic complexity. Working through the case study highlights some of the key benefits of the PFS approach for practicing project managers and decision-makers in general. Findings: The PFSs approach proposed in this study is shown to be scalable, efficient, generalizable and practical. The results confirm that the inclusion of last aggregation and last defuzzification avoids the potentially critical information loss and relative lack of transparency. Most especially, the developed PFS is able to accommodate and manage domain expert expressions of uncertainty that are realistic and practical. Originality/value: The main novelty of this study is to address project resilience in the form of multi-criteria evaluation and decision-making under PFS uncertainty. The approach is defined mathematically and presented as a six-step approach to decision-making. The PFS approach is given to allow multiple domain experts to focus more clearly on accurate expressions of their agreement and disagreement. PFS is shown to be an important new direction in practical multi-criteria decision-making methods for the project management practitioner

International collaboration formation in entrepreneurial food industry: evidence of an emerging economy

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Purpose International collaboration is a crucial requirement of entrepreneurship, particularly in developing emerging economies. This collaboration seems so necessary in the food industry as a major contributor to environmental, social and economic problems. This paper aims to identify, analyse the influential network relationship and prioritise the key success factors (KSFs) of international collaboration formation in the entrepreneurial food industry with a case study on Iran's emerging economy. Design/methodology/approach To identify a list of KSFs, a qualitative method, literature review, is initially used. A quantitative method, fuzzy-Delphi, then is employed to finalise the main KSFs based on the entrepreneurial food industry experts' opinion. To analyse the causal relationship, and prioritise the KSFs, a fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)-analytic network process (ANP) methodology, i.e. FDANP, is applied. At the first stage, the cause–effect diagram of KSFs is extracted using fuzzy DEMATEL and then, the KSFs weights and priorities are evaluated using a fuzzy ANP. Findings The results illustrate that the characteristics of effective development workers are the leading dimension of a successful international collaboration that directly affects other dimensions. On the other hand, increased marketing and trading is the most important KSF that is directly related to international entrepreneurial collaboration team capabilities and professionalism. The leading and casual role of team members also plays a vital role in strategic and communication issues affecting the collaboration success, e.g. market research and new product development. Availability of financial resources and the ability of partners in continuous financing is also a crucial and required factor for a successful collaboration. Originality/value Using an extensive review of the literature to extract the KSFs of international entrepreneurial collaboration and finalising them using a fuzzy-Delphi method and examining the cause-effect relations between them, as well as prioritising the KSFs are the main contributions of this paper

Interval type 2-based hybrid fuzzy evaluation of financial services in E7 economies with DEMATEL-ANP and MOORA methods

WOS: 000467687500013The financial services are key instrument for the right evolution of economy, mainly in the emerging countries. Therefore, the evaluation of the financial services is crucial for the economic development of such a type of countries. Different methods have been applied to accomplish this service evaluation, but its complexity greatly involves uncertain information. Therefore, this paper aims at considering in a more comprehensive way the managing of such uncertainty by the use of interval type-2 fuzzy sets. Hence, it will be proposed a novel evaluation methodology based on a hybrid multi-criteria decision method integrating DEMATEL-ANP (DANP) and MOORA able to deal with interval type-2 fuzzy sets. For the robustness check, the TOPSIS and VIKOR based on interval type-2 fuzzy sets are compared with the MOORA method and the sensitivity analysis is also applied to analyze the consistency of decision makers' priorities. This novel hybrid methodology will be used to evaluate the financial service performance in the emerging seven (E7) economies to conclude what kind of strategic actions should be taken by governments to improve their financial systems as well as to identify a ranking regarding the financial service quality of the E7 economies.Spanish National research project [TIN2015-66524-P]; ERDF fundsThe work was partly supported by the Spanish National research project TIN2015-66524-P and ERDF funds

Análise das causas de blight urbano com recurso a mapas cognitivos e à técnica DEMATEL

Blight, não é uma palavra usual do nosso dia-a-dia, mas é, sem dúvida, uma problemática presente nas nossas vidas, especialmente se vivermos em grandes centros urbanos. O Blight surge quando uma propriedade é negligenciada, levando a um processo de depreciação, tanto a nível funcional como social, atingindo padrões de habitação inaceitáveis. Contudo, apesar destas condições, estas propriedades são muitas vezes ocupadas por famílias que não possuem rendimentos suficientes para habitar uma casa com as condições mínimas ou são, muitas vezes, aproveitadas para narcotráfico e prostituição, afetando toda a vizinhança. Para além disso, o Blight propaga-se rapidamente, pelo que é de extrema importância analisar as suas causas, pois estas encontram-se na base da prevenção e mitigação desta problemática. A presente dissertação vem ajudar na compreensão do Blight e na identificação das suas causas. Os métodos genéricos utilizados dentro da temática do Blight apresentam algumas limitações que a presente dissertação, com recurso a mapas cognitivos e à técnica DEcision MAking Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), visa colmatar, propondo, deste modo, um modelo mais transparente e uma análise dinâmica das relações de causa-efeito entre as variáveis. Através de um debate entre especialistas na área, surgiram seis clusters, provenientes da experiência e vivência do painel. As vantagens e desvantagens deste modelo são também objeto de análise e discussão. Importa ainda referir que todo o processo assume uma lógica de complementaridade, visando conjugar elementos objetivos com elementos subjetivos por forma a ajudar na tomada de decisão.Blight is not a common word in our daily vocabulary, but it is certainly a problem that is present in our lives, especially if we live in an urban area. Blight starts to appear when a property is neglected, leading to a process of depreciation, both at a functional and social level, and reaching uninhabitable housing standards. However, despite these conditions, these properties are often occupied by families who don’t have sufficient income to live in a house with the minimum conditions or are often used for drug trafficking and prostitution, affecting the entire neighborhood. Furthermore, Blight spreads rapidly. Therefore, it is extremely important to analyze its causes, as these are at the root of preventing and mitigating this problem. The present dissertation helps to understand Blight and to identify its causes. The generic methods used within the Blight topic have some limitations that the present dissertation, using cognitive maps and the DEcision MAking Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique, aims to overcome, thus proposing a more transparent model and a dynamic analysis of cause-effect relationship between variables. Through debate among specialists in the study area, six clusters emerged from the experience and knowledge of the panel. The advantages and disadvantages of this model are also object of analysis and discussion. It should also be noted that the entire process takes on a complementary logic, aiming to combine objective and subjective elements to support decision making

The Undecidability of a Computable General Equilibrium - A Contemporary Philosophical Aspect

Undecidability is a longstanding problem in mathematical logic and computability theory. Gödel, Turing, Church, Tarski and others delved into concerns and issues surrounding an algorithm capable of providing a correct decision when presented with a binary option. The article will first present different aspects of this problem and proceed to analyse the issue in the context of economic theory. Ever since economic science set itself the task of solving the recursive computability problem of a general equilibrium point, engaging the minds of scholars from Walras, Pareto, and Lange to Hayek, Arrow, and Debreu, to name but a few, the area has been the focus of much research. Kumaraswamy Vela Velupillai’s significant work has recently pointed out that the strictly constructive mathematical application of Uzawa Equivalence Theorem, successfully used as scaffolding for various economic models (CGE, DSGE, ABE) to induce a “constructed” equilibrium point, rests on the assumption that lead to its (algorithmic uncomputable) undecidability. Reliance on Zorn's Lemma (Axiom of Choice) to resolve the undecidable suggests convergence, deep implications and consequences also for contemporary philosophy. Therefore, the second part of the paper will shift the object of knowledge to the contemporary political philosophy of Alain Badiou – his life’s oeuvre proposing the “mathematics is ontology” axiom. Endorsing and innovatively reapplying his formalization – encircling the concept of undecidability, and simultaneously complementing it with the use of ZFC set theory, especially rethinking the use of the axiom of choice in Badiou’s theorizing – the article will try to show that the economic general equilibrium theory necessarily proceeds, echoing Badiou, with a decision of a subject, pushing the alleged subject-less scientificity of general equilibrium economics into an ethics of political economy. In turn, the paper will conclude that such an outcome can be directly linked to the political and ideological dimensions of presumably “neutral and objective” means-to-an-end economic theorizing