Brown–Gibson Model as a Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) Method: Theoretical and Mathematical Formulations, Literature Review, and Applications

Abstract

AbstractOver the past four decades, multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) has become an essential discipline for operations research. It has been beneficial to address the insufficiency of a single criterion in real-world decision-making. MCDA models have been classified into three main categories: Multi-Attribute Decision Analysis (MADA), Multi-Objective Decision Analysis (MODA), and the combination of the two. Among the MADA models, the Brown–Gibson model is gaining more and more academic attention. In 1972, Phillip A. Brown and David F. Gibson designed it to consider both objective and subjective factors in optimal location problems. Since then, it has been applied in various engineering and science fields, and different versions of the model have been established. However, no literature review study related to this model has been performed to date. Such an analysis will provide researchers wishing to embark on related studies with a solid background. The present book chapter aims to fill this gap by presenting the theoretical and mathematical formulations of different versions of the model listed from the literature and carrying out a literature review. The latter showed that most of the applications took place in Asia, wherein either the original or extended version of the model was used. By way of illustration, an application of the original version to determine the optimal location of a commercial centre in Cameroon showed that the city of Douala was the best location.KeywordsOperations researchMulticriteria decision analysis (MCDA)Multi-Attribute Decision Analysis (MADA)Brown–Gibson modelOptimal locationSubjective factorsObjective factors