Prioritization of R&D Project Evaluation Criteria Using Pythagorean Fuzzy AHP Method

Abstract

One of the key factors for businesses to ensure their long-term competitiveness is the development of new products/services. In order to do this, they need to carry out R&D projects. However, it is highly risk and uncertainty to identify innovative and high value-added projects from among the many R&D projects in their portfolio. In particular, there are many criteria in the evaluation of projects. The weights of importance given to these criteria at the evaluation stage are very critical. Therefore, the importance of objective evaluation of R&D projects is increasing day by day. In this context, evaluating R&D projects by using fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making methods that eliminate uncertainty and risks will make this process easier. In this study, it is aimed to prioritize the criteria considered in the evaluation of R&D projects. In the study, firstly, the criteria taken into account in the evaluation of R&D projects were determined through the literature and expert opinions. Then, the criteria were prioritized by importance weights by using the Pythagorean fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method, which is flexible and powerful in solving the uncertainties that may arise in the evaluation of R&D projects.