A hybrid fuzzy-multicriteria-CBR methodology for strategic planning support

Abstract

The application of fuzzy sets in traditional fields has been an usual practice to deal with the uncertainty derived from vagueness. However, the use of fuzzy sets can be still more explored in some other areas in which the uncertain knowledge is the available information. The strategic planning is one of these areas in which the uncertainty derived from the vagueness and imprecision is the key to the decision process. The uncertainty is something to be avoided or eliminated in the traditional strategic planning processes. Otherwise, the uncertainty must be treated as relevant information for the evaluation of future choices in organizations. The intention of this work is to indicate how the fuzzy sets approach may contribute to the evaluation and exploration of strategic planning scenarios applying a hybrid help methodology. In this research, fuzzy sets are the basement for a planning process in which the judgment of external and internal decision factors, the definition of their respective weights, and choice of adequate organizational strategies are performed considering scales of subjective linguistic terms. A hybrid support methodology applying fuzzy sets, multicriteria analysis, and case-based reasoning is presented as an alternative resource to the traditional decision methods applied in strategic planning.