Incorporation of the DEMATEL into evaluations of CSR performance in BOT projects

Abstract

AbstractBuild–operate–transfer (BOT) is a public–private partnership (PPP) model in which the government commissions private enterprises to develop large‐scale public infrastructure. Owing to the large scale and long duration of BOT projects, BOT companies have diverse stakeholders and assume more social responsibility than ordinary companies do. Although studies on corporate social responsibility (CSR) are plentiful, most of them have examined CSR from the perspective of consumers or private‐ or state‐owned enterprises. Few studies have investigated BOT and CSR from a holistic perspective. Therefore, we adopted systems thinking to examine multistakeholder and multicriteria scenarios for investigating the CSR of BOT companies. This study established a research framework through the Delphi method. Subsequently, the decision‐making trial and evaluation laboratory and an analytic network process were used to identify causality among these criteria. Finally, the results are discussed from a systemic perspective, and suggestions for future strategies are provided.