Analysis of Trade Competitiveness of the World s Leading Textiles Exporters by Hybrid MCDM Methods

Abstract

Purpose –This paper demonstrates the application of the IDOCRIW-based MABAC and MAIRCA methods in the evaluation of the trade competitiveness of the top fifteen textiles exporters in the world. Design/methodology/approach –The trade competitiveness index was used for assessing the trade competitiveness of exporters in the textile industry. The IDOCRIW method was used to obtain the weight of criteria. The analysis of the trade competitiveness of exporters was carried out using the new multi-criteria methods, namely the MABAC (Multi-Attributive Border Approximation area Comparison) and the MAIRCA (Multi-Atributive Ideal-Real Comparative Analysis). Findings –According to the results obtained by the IDOCRIW method, share in the world market (SWM) and net exports (NEX) were determined as the most and least important criteria with weight values of 0,3297 and 0,0816, respectively. After determining the criteria weight, the alternatives were ranked using the MABAC and MAIRCA methods. The results for both methods indicate that China, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Spain have the highest trade competitiveness, while Croatia, Ireland, the Republic of Cyprus, Malta, and Mexico have the lowest trade competitiveness in the textile industry. The findings demonstrated that MABAC and MAIRCA provided consistent solutions for ranking the alternatives. Additionally, the consistency and robustness of the results were tested using two different scenarios. The overall results revealed that China and Italy have the best trade competitiveness in the textile industry. Discussion –As expected, China and the European Unioun (EU) countries have the highest trade competitiveness in the world’s textile industry. It can also be stated the textile industry is strategic sector for both the EU countries and China.