Application of MCDM methods in managerial decisions for identifying and evaluating future options: A real case study in shipbuilding industry

In today's competitive world, making appropriate strategic decisions is one of the major challenges industries and businesses facing to create competitive advantages in future. MCDM approaches can provide an integrated framework for identifying, evaluating and prioritizing strategic options. In this article, we put forward a two-stage procedure organized as a hybrid methodology to show the usefulness of various MCDM methods in real-world cases. The first step is related to shaping the future options by MODM techniques, and the second step is concerned with evaluating the options by using MADM techniques (SWARA and G-COPRAS). A numerical example in shipbuilding industry is then carried out to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed methodology. Three scenarios, including “Economic”, “Eco-friendly” and “Midway” are considered for the future of merchant fleets according to the global current status. Based on SWARA implementing results, the "cost" and "employment" criteria are identified as the most important factors in the shipbuilding industry among the 12 identified criteria. According to the presented framework, the “Midway” scenario is given the highest priority. Finally, regarding to the country's situation in shipbuilding, some suggestions have been made in this area.