International Journal of Multicriteria Decision Making (4 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• An integrated ESG Readiness Evaluation and Reporting Methodology  
  by Nikolaos Kakogiannis, Haris Doukas, Filippos Dimitrios Mexis, Aspasia Feliou, Konstantinos Stouris 
  Abstract: Green financial products like green portfolios, funds, and bonds have almost become synonymous with sustainable development. Respectively, reporting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria performance is becoming more significant for companies and the financial market. Although many reporting methodologies exist, an integrated and standardised framework for assessing SMEs' performance on ESG criteria is lacking. This issue has raised criticism and discordance in the scientific and financial community regarding the impartiality and integrity of the published ESG reports, uncertainty to investors and allowed greenwashing phenomena. The present manuscript proposes an ESG benchmarking and readiness methodology based on a holistic approach, considering all the main aspects of market needs. Through the methodology, companies can assess their alignment with ESG criteria based on major international standards. The methodology can be the basis of implementing an online tool that will be able to provide a first-tier qualitative ESG rating within a brief self-assessment questionnaire.
  Keywords: environmental; social; and governance; ESG; investing; criteria; performance; risk management; sustainability; corporate governance; sustainable finance.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMCDM.2024.10060064
   
  
• Utilitarian and Rawlsian preferences in vector bimatrix games  
  by Asunción Zapata, Luisa Monroy, Amparo M. Mármol 
  Abstract: In this paper the equilibria of bimatrix games with multi-dimensional payoffs are analysed. In order to derive a description of the sets of equilibria for these games, two approaches are studied. The first one, the utilitarian approach, considers the preferences of the players represented by a weighted sum of the payoffs. The second one, the Rawlsian approach, relies on a maxmin representation of the preferences of the players. The whole sets of equilibria of these vector-valued bimatrix games are characterised in terms of the parameters involved in the representation of the preferences in both cases. We also show how the additional information on the preferences can be introduced in both models and analyse the effect that these information has in the equilibria for some interesting cases. The theoretical results are illustrated with an example of a two-criteria two-person game.
  Keywords: vector bimatrix games; equilibria; best response; utilitarian preferences; Rawlsian preferences.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMCDM.2024.10064798
   
  
• An LOPCOW-OPTBIAS-based Integrated Approach for Cobot Selection in Manufacturing Assembly Operations  
  by Saikat Chatterjee, Partha Das, Shankar Chakraborty 
  Abstract: Nowadays, collaborative robots (cobots) have gained much popularity in manufacturing industries to assist in various assembly operations. However, selecting the most suitable cobot can be challenging due to abundance of many viable options in the market. In this paper, an integrated approach combining logarithmic percentage change-driven objective weighting (LOPCOW) and ordering preference targeting at bi-ideal average solutions (OPTBIAS) methods is proposed. Based on a real-time illustrative example consisting of 13 alternatives and six evaluation criteria, OPTBIAS method identifies Elfin-P as the most apposite cobot model for the considered assembly operation. The effectiveness of this integrated approach is validated against other popular multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques and objective criteria weighting methods. A sensitivity analysis with respect to variations in the criteria weights also proves robustness of the adopted approach. Thus, it can act as a potent MCDM tool in effectively selecting the most suitable assembly cobot for a given application.
  Keywords: cobot selection; decision making; LOPCOW; OPTBIAS; comparative analysis.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMCDM.2024.10065329
   
  
• Adoption Barriers of Blockchain Technology in Indian Automotive Supply Chain: an MCDM Approach  
  by Siva Kumar Pujari, Saibal Kumar Saha, Aromal S 
  Abstract: The Indian automobile industry faces intense competition from international firms, making technological upgrades essential. Blockchain, known for powering cryptocurrencies, offers a transparent, immutable, and decentralised database beneficial for supply chains. Despite its potential and widespread use in other sectors, the Indian automobile industry has been slow to adopt it. This paper examines the barriers to blockchain adoption in this sector using Delphi and DEMATEL techniques. The study reveals that trust-building among partners and collaboration challenges due to blockchain's complexity are the primary obstacles hindering adoption. These barriers make it difficult for firms to decide on implementing blockchain technology in their supply chains, with other obstacles being secondary but interconnected. Overcoming these obstacles requires transforming company cultures, establishing efficient governance systems, and ensuring transparent data disclosure. Governments can support this by stimulating innovation through legislation and creating blockchain sandboxes for safe testing, helping to develop standards with organisations like ISO and IEEE.
  Keywords: DEMATEL; automobile; blockchain; data privacy; organisation culture.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMCDM.2024.10068005