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An overview of the analytic hierarchy process and its applications

European Journal of Operational ResearchPublished 1 September 1990
Luís G. Vargas
Citations1,027
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score2.24
SNIP2.62

TL;DR

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is a theory of measurement for dealing with quantifiable intangible criteria that has found rich applications in decision theory, conflict resolution and in models of the brain.

Abstract

A winning business model is the key to business success in today's fragmented market environment. However, businesses need to develop their business models overtime to meet the requirements of environmental uncertainties and shifts surrounding the business. Drawing on complexity theory and its related concept of hierarchy, this study advances a systematic approach to theoretically investigate the factors that favourably or adversely affect business model development (BMD), in a hierarchical order. In particular, multiple fuzzy multi-criteria decision making techniques were applied to develop the list of enablers of and barriers to BMD, to determine the priorities among enablers, and to determine the significance of barriers with respect to the main enablers of BMD. The results reveal that organizational form is the most salient enablers of BMD, while type II barriers are the most significant barriers, challenging the development of business models. Implications and future research directions are also provided.

Keywords

Decision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and FinanceBusiness, Management and Accounting