Title: An objective decision support for designing virtual enterprises using a fuzzy-based approach

Authors: Souhir Ben Salah; Wafa Ben Yahia; Omar Ayadi; Faouzi Masmoudi

Addresses: Laboratoire de Recherche de Mécanique, Modélisation et Productique (LA2MP), Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax (ENIS), BP 1173, 3038 Sfax, Tunisia ' Laboratoire de Recherche de Mécanique, Modélisation et Productique (LA2MP), Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax (ENIS), BP 1173, 3038 Sfax, Tunisia ' Laboratoire de Recherche de Mécanique, Modélisation et Productique (LA2MP), Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax (ENIS), BP 1173, 3038 Sfax, Tunisia ' Laboratoire de Recherche de Mécanique, Modélisation et Productique (LA2MP), Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax (ENIS), BP 1173, 3038 Sfax, Tunisia

Abstract: The short life-cycles of products lead to temporary collaborative relationships. This is the key principle of so-called virtual enterprises, which aim to fulfil a particular goal joining partner resources. The focus of this study is upon designing a virtual enterprise from virtual breeding environment to respond to a specific business opportunity. As the success of such collaboration relationship is deeply related to the selected partners, this paper's target lies in developing an objective partner assessment approach. Firstly, a new classification of partner assessment criteria is set forward, taking into account the decision level. Secondly, a fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making technique is used for determining criteria weights according to BO's requirements so as to obtain a more thorough evaluation. This technique combines the fuzzy set theory and the analytic network process technique, designed to handle inaccurate evaluators' judgments. To illustrate the practical applications of the proposed approach, a real case study is addressed.

Keywords: virtual enterprise; partner assessment; assessment criteria; fuzzy ANP approach.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2023.136109

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2023 Vol.46 No.4, pp.471 - 491

Received: 10 Feb 2020
Accepted: 22 May 2021
Published online: 17 Jan 2024 *

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