Decision-making Trail Research Articles

Cloud service ranking with an integration of k-means algorithm and decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory approach

The present research focuses on ranking cloud services by using the k-means algorithm with multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches that are the prime factor in the decision-making process and have been used to choose cloud services. The tools offered by MCDM can solve almost any decision-making problem. When faced with a selection challenge in the cloud environment, the trusted party would need to weigh the client’s choice against a predetermined list of criteria. There is a wide range of approaches to evaluating the quality of cloud services. The deep learning model has been considered a branch of artificial intelligence that assesses datasets to perform training and testing and makes decisions accordingly. This paper presents a concise overview of MCDM approaches and discusses some of the most commonly used MCDM methods. Also, a model based on deep learning with the k-means algorithm based decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (kDE-MATEL) and analytic network process (ANP) is proposed as k-means algorithm based decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory with analytic network process (kD-ANP) for selecting cloud services. The proposed model uses the k-means algorithm and gives different levels of priority and weight to a set of criteria. A traditional model is also compared with a proposed model to reflect the efficiency of the proposed approach.

Fuzzy causal model of enterprise flexibility dimensions using Fermatean Fuzzy DEMATEL: a case study of Indian pharmaceutical industry

PurposeTo develop a fuzzy causal model of enterprise flexibility dimensions in a case study of Indian pharmaceutical industry.Design/methodology/approachThe eight dimensions of enterprise flexibility were identified based on literature review. Fermatean fuzzy decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory (FF-DEMATEL) technique is applied to develop the cause-and-effect interrelationship model among various enterprise flexibility dimensions.FindingsThe information technology flexibility, supply chain flexibility, technical flexibility and marketing flexibility are found to be causing/influencing other flexibilities and contributing to overall enterprise flexibilities. Therefore, more attention needs to be paid to develop and sustain them for competitive advantage.Research limitations/implicationsFermatean fuzzy sets offer more flexibility and more accurate handling complex uncertain group decision making. FF-DEMATEL is a more accurate method to develop inter-dependencies and causal model than ISM, TISM. Ratings from the limited number of decision experts (DEs) from few pharmaceutical firms were done. Future study should take bigger sample of firms and more number of DEs to generalize the findings.Practical implicationsThe model will help managers in pharmaceutical industry to prioritize the dimensions of enterprise flexibility to achieve agility, responsiveness, resilience and competitive advantage.Originality/valueTo the best knowledge of the authors, causal modeling enterprise flexibility dimensions using FF-DEMATEL has been studied for the first time in a developing economy context.

Using a comprehensive DEMATEL-ISM-MICMAC and importance–performance analysis to study sustainable service quality features

PurposeTo gain and differentiate competitive advantage, the sustainable service quality is a determining factor that railway companies can use. The purpose of this study is to identify both the importance and performance of rail transportation service quality factors in a case study as well as determine the most influential quality features.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive approach namely importance–performance analysis (IPA) technique and decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), and interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and Matriced’ Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée á un Classement (MICMAC) techniques was utilized.FindingsThe relative position of each attribute is specified on the IPA matrix proposing four strategies of concentrate here, keep up the good work, low priority and possible overkill. This study reveals that attributes of “the company cares about having a good society” are the most influential factor, and “having good business relations with shareholders” is the most permeable factor. Actually, consumers pay attention to how companies act toward society and maintain communication with shareholders. Through ISM technique and by summing the row and column of the consistency matrix, the attributes were partitioned into four levels. Also, MICMAC analysis identified the four clusters of linkage, independent, autonomous and dependent status of the attributes in terms of the driving power and dependence power.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the nature of single case study methodology, caution should be taken into consideration regarding the generazability of the obtained results.Originality/valueThe hybrid DEMATEL-ISM technique is used to analyze service quality factors in Iran’s transportation industry, which can be utilized in other industries as well as other countries.

Assessing the kid's behaviour with factors of social media advertising: DEMATEL application

PurposeKids get exposed to advertising on social media platforms when they visit them to perform various goals. The purpose of this study is to find out the factors which affect kids' behaviour when the kids encounter advertising on social media and also to establish causal relationships amongst the factors of social media advertising (SMA).Design/methodology/approachA total of 11 factors of SMA have been identified with the help of experts and the causal relationships amongst the SMA factors have been constructed by the implementation of decision-making trail and laboratory evaluation (DEMATEL). Based on the established relationships, a causal diagram has been also developed to understand the structural nature of interdependence amongst the factors.FindingsDEMATEL technique is based on logical steps, which have assisted in categorising the identified factors into two groups: cause group and effect group. Cause group factors are the reasons for the effect group factors to occur. Customisation, entertainment, information and interactivity have been observed as cause factors whereas, relevance, engagement with SMA, purchase intention, product involvement, advertising value, attitude towards SMA and irritation have been observed as effect factors. Product involvement is found to have the highest level of interaction with all other factors. Information and interactivity are observed to influence all other factors.Research limitations/implicationsKids possess a limited understanding of the selling intent of advertisers which makes kids vulnerable to advertising. This study supports that the content of the advertisement should be kept in accordance with the need of kids and also suggests that marketers should emphasise cause group factors which derive subsequent consequences on effect group factors. The foremost limitation of this study lies in the process of identifying the factors through expert opinions. The sets of contextual relationships may vary when different experts are considered.Originality/valueThis study strives to identify the factors which affect kids' understanding of SMA and also establishes causal relationships amongst them. This kind of study is unique in state of the art and to the authors' knowledge no significant research has been conducted in India which involves establishment of inter-relationships amongst SMA factors that affect kids' behaviour.

Selection of plastic solid waste treatment technology based on cumulative prospect theory and fuzzy DEMATEL.

Under the global implementation of a low-carbon economy, the treatment of municipal plastic solid waste (PSW) has become an important task to be solved urgently. In the actual decision-making process of PSW treatment, the evaluation information is usually fuzzy, and the decision-makers (DMs) are bounded rational. For selecting the most appropriate PSW treatment technology, we propose a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method based on cumulative prospect theory and fuzzy decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL). Firstly, we construct the criteria system of PSW treatment that consists of 9 sub-criteria from the perspectives of environment, economy, society, and technology. Then, considering the interdependences and interactions between these evaluation criteria and allowing multiple stakeholders to participate in decision-making, we propose a fuzzy DEMATEL method to deal with the fuzziness of evaluation in the decision-making process and determine the weights of the evaluation criteria. Subsequently, taking into account the different opinions of different stakeholders and psychological factors such as risk preference and loss aversion of stakeholders, we aggregate the evaluation information of different stakeholders and develop the PSW treatment alternatives to rank the orders by using the proposed multi-actor cumulative prospect theory (CPT) method. We study seven alternative processes for PSW treatment by the developed model, including landfill, recycling, pyrolysis, incineration, and the combination of landfilling and recycling, landfill and incineration, and recycling and pyrolysis. According to the ranking results, we find the combination of recycling and incineration is the best treatment alternative. We take the seven PSW treatment technologies in Shanghai as the case study to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method. Through the sensitivity analysis and comparison analysis with fuzzy similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS) method and an acronym in Portuguese of the interactive and multi-criteria decision-making (TODIM) method, we illustrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method. This research provides significant references for the PSW treatment technology selection problems under uncertain environments and extends the methods in the decision-making field.

Ranking critical success factors for implementation of lean-industry 4.0: a methodology based on DEMATEL and ANP

ABSTRACT Many firms have been performing a variety of organizational reforms to achieve long-term manufacturing sustainability. Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and Lean techniques have attracted much attention in this context. Although the potential benefits of implementing Lean and I4.0 in an integrated manner (Lean-I4.0) have been recognized, the studies addressing the practical issues for their integrated implementation, in particular the factors affecting the successful implementation, are missing. Therefore, this study is to determine the critical success factors (CSFs) that will enable the manufacturing industry in India to successfully implement the Lean-I4.0, thus obtaining manufacturing sustainability. The CSFs identified through a literature review were first validated by industrial experts. The Decision-Making Trail and Evaluation Laboratory technique was subsequently adopted to analyze the interdependence of the factors and classify them as either cause or effect. Finally, the Analytical Network Process technique in SuperDecisions was employed to rank the factors considering their interdependence scores. The results stress that i) the maturity of I4.0 and its relationship with lean and ii) the skill level and experience of workers are very important in the successful implementation of the Lean-I4.0. Besides, the study highlights that all the factors affect, at varying degrees, the successful implementation of the Lean-I4.0.

Analysis of barriers affecting the adoption of community solar from consumer's perspective: A hybrid ISM-DEMATEL approach

Community solar has the capability to broaden solar accessibility and convalesce financial feasibility in comparison to conventional and commercial solar options and holds the potential to be part of the energy mix. Community solar avails ingress and affordability to solar power for those who may not be able to exploit it either due to financial or location constraints. Parallelly, it solves the issues related to electrification, fossil fuel crisis and greenhouse gas emission, contributes to sustainable development goals (SDG 7 and SDG 11), and realization of net-zero goals, however, the presence of barriers makes the adoption or scaling of community solar difficult. This research work intends to identify twelve crucial barriers for the adoption of community solar on the basis of the literature review and the perception of experts in the energy system. In this paper, we adopted hybrid Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) - Decision Ma king Trail and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) approach for comprehension of the causal and hierarchical relationships among barriers for community solar adoption. The result suggested that lack of consumer awareness, lack of regulations and policies addressing community solar and lack of business model are the most influential barriers as depicted in ISM-DEMATEL based methodology. With the presented novel method, policy-makers, utilities and communities can liaise, coordinate and practice the system-wide advantages of community energy projects. It can also aid the public sector in comprehending the barriers and requirements of people.

Analysis of barriers in e-waste management in developing economy: an integrated multiple-criteria decision-making approach.

An increasing amount of electronic waste (e-waste) is not a new concern. It has been causing trouble globally. This waste comprises valuable metals and harmful compounds that lead to detrimental environmental conditions. Managing this kind of waste in developing economies is difficult due to different barriers hindering the process. Therefore, the goal of this research work is to determine the barriers while taking expert opinions and through available literature, and subsequently prioritize them to address the challenges in e-waste management. Moreover, this study utilizes an integrated Fuzzy Decision-Making Trail and Evaluation Laboratory (F-DEMATEL) and Fuzzy Interpretive Structural Modeling (F-ISM) approaches to determine the interrelationship between these identified barriers. Performance data obtained from this combined approach is applied to determine an overall rank for 15 identified barriers. The F-DEMATEL technique facilitates in obtaining the influence of barriers on each other and categorizes them into causal or effect groups. In addition, a Fuzzy Matrice d'impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée an un Classeement (F-MICMAC) analysis is exercised to sort them into dependentor driving factor. The findings suggest that the underlying cause barriers include "lack of customer awareness about return," "less policies addressing e-waste problem," "lack of long-term planning," and "insensitiveness of public towards environmental issues." The methodology is integrated with fuzzy logic to take uncertainty in the data gathered into consideration. This approach aids policymakers and decision-makers in determining the barriers' mutual relationships and interconnections.

The extrinsic factors affecting patient access, referral and treatment of lung cancer in selected oncology public health facilities in KwaZulu-Natal

Patients’ insights into the factors affecting access, referral and treatment of lung cancer in public healthcare facilities, are key to the fight against this disease. On the other hand, the lack of epidemiological information on the actual burden of lung cancer, makes it difficult for public healthcare facilities to be adequately equipped to deal with foreseeable challenges in the oncology units. In order to inform patientcentred interventions and lung cancer control programmes, this study explored extrinsic factors that affect lung cancer patients throughout the cancer care continuum in KwaZulu-Natal. Nineteen patients receiving care in the three public healthcare facilities providing oncology services in KwaZulu-Natal, were interviewed using an interview guide. Following data saturation, thematic analysis was used to develop the themes relating to the extrinsic factors affecting the provision of cancer care. Five themes emerged from the analysis, namely: geographical dynamics affecting patient access to a healthcare facility, lung cancer suspicion index in the diagnostic trail within the different levels of care, decision-making trail for the referral system, equipmentinduced delays and healthcare-patient communication. A number of lung cancer patients utilising oncology services in public healthcare facilities in KwaZulu-Natal, are often met with various extrinsic factors affecting their progression through different stages of cancer care continuum. Therefore, the results of the extrinsic factors explored in this paper through the lung cancer patients’ lenses may be used for designing mitigation plans to reduce delays in lung cancer care in KwaZulu-Natal.

Analysis of barriers in effective immunization against COVID 19 using F-DEMATEL

India had broken all the records and counts of confirmed COVID-19 cases per day and daily death toll reached over thousands. India is way far from other developed nations in the number of vaccine doses per 100 population. Although vaccination is an effective measure to be followed to overcome this grave situation, still certain misconceptions and rumors throughout the country have pulled a decent part of the population from being vaccinated. Another big challenge is production and supply of vaccines to meet the demand. COVID-19 pandemic will not end until the entire population gets vaccinated that would protect them from this deadly disease. Therefore, this paper aims at clearly identifying the factors and subsequently prioritizing them as barriers in effective immunization against COVID-19 in India following multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) technique. In this study, a fuzzy decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory (F-DEMATEL) approach is applied for understanding the contextual relationship among the barriers for effective immunization against COVID-19. The methodology is followed in a fuzzy environment to address the issue of uncertainty in the data gathered. The result suggests that the ‘Misinformation/ Misconceptions/ Lack of vaccine education in underserved communities’, ‘Lack of information regarding a vaccination center close to home’, ‘Difficulties in getting appointments’, ‘Supply chain issues in the distribution of vaccine’, and ‘Lack of access for marginalized communities’ are the important barriers in effective immunization against COVID-19. Recommendations have been made to overcome this situation and help to immunize the population and drag COVID-19 down to earth.

APPLICATION OF INTERVAL TYPE-2 FUZZY SETS DEMATEL METHODS IN MARITIME TRANSPORTATION: THE CASE OF SHIP COLLISION

Accident analyse in marine industry is one of the critical issues for safety practitioners to prevent loss of life. Although considerable efforts were undertaken to prevent marine accident, numerous researches revealed that marine accidents are still on-going. In order to minimize accidents in the marine transportation, this paper presents a proactive decision- making tool which is integrating Decision-Making Trail and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method with interval type-2 fuzzy sets (IT2FSs). As the DEMATEL enables to analyse cause and effect relationship in decision-making, the IT2FSs overcome ambiguity and vagueness of linguistic assessment of decision-makers through the DEMATEL. Thus, significant accident causal factors and their effects can be analysed on the basis of cause-effect diagram. The application of proposed approach is demonstrated with a real ship collision case. Beside its theoretical contribution, the proposed approach provides practical benefits to ship owners and operators to perceive cause and effect relationship and to avoid marine accident.

A multicriteria decision making methodology based on two-dimensional uncertainty by hesitant Z-fuzzy linguistic terms with an application for blockchain risk evaluation

Blockchain technology (BT), which provides to record transactions among many computers as a distributed ledger, is commonly utilized by companies to develop and manage business processes. Since it is a multi-process and multi-agent complex system, the implementation process of BT contains many risk factors. Identifying and analyzing these risks in order to minimize their adverse effects during the implementation process is also completely critical for companies. Since evaluating these risks must be handled by considering many different perspectives, the evaluation of risk factors for BT can be considered as a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. To cope with uncertainty in this process, the fuzzy set theory (FST) can be effectively utilized with MCDM methods to increase their ability to obtain more concrete and realistic results. Therefore, this paper proposes an MCDM methodology consisting of Decision-Making Trail and Evaluating Laboratory (DEMATEL) and cognitive mapping methods based on FST. These methods have been reconstructed with hesitant fuzzy Z-numbers that enable not only to state impreciseness of the assessments but also to consider indeterminacy and hesitancy of the experts to evaluate risk factors with respect to BT implementation. While the dependencies of risk factors have been determined via the hesitant fuzzy Z-DEMATEL method, their weights have been obtained through the hesitant fuzzy Z-cognitive mapping method. As a result, this study aims to prioritize risk factors related to the BT implementation process with a novel fuzzy decision-making methodology and provide a road map for companies. With this study, which is the first paper in the literature in terms of the subject of the study and the method adopted, an integrated, comprehensive fuzzy approach is introduced for the first time in evaluating BT risks. As a result of detailed research, risk factors that companies may encounter in BT use and the degrees of their importance have been determined. Through that, essential decision analysis has been put forward that companies can apply for their strategic decisions. A sensitivity analysis based on changes in the initial vector values has also been adapted to analyze the effects of the risk factors.

Management of waste electrical and electronic equipment based on circular economy strategies: navigating a sustainability transition toward waste management sector

In transitioning to a circular economy with sustainable waste management, the role of waste management sector shifts from being a regulator to being a facilitator. Instead of just regulating waste flows, the sector tries to encourage businesses to address all aspects of circular economy sustainability in a more efficient manner. The sustainability assessment in the sector lacks a hybrid method to aggregate the sustainability dimensions of circular economy strategies into a single summary indicator. This process is a multiple-criteria decision-making problem that requires the integration of circular economy strategies to form the sustainability indices. In order to make the right choices here, this study proposes a fuzzy three-phase group multiple-criteria decision-making approach. This approach integrates fuzzy analytic network process (fuzzy ANP), fuzzy decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory (fuzzy DEMATEL) and fuzzy multi-objective optimization on the basis of ration analysis (fuzzy MULTIMOORA). In addition, a proposed aggregate circular economy-based sustainability index is applied to calculate the closeness of the outcomes of the hybrid method to the ideal strategies. The performance of the method is evaluated in the real-world cases concerning the selection of the most suitable circular economy strategies for a sustainable waste electrical and electronic equipment management practice.

Analyzing the Interactions Among the Challenges to Circular Economy Practices

The concept of circular economy (CE) significantly lessen the waste and environment pollution. A growing number of articles support the need to consider implementing CE within supply chains. Unfortunately, most corporations have not been successful in pursuing this goal, greatly due to existence of several challenges. Up to now, limited articles have analyzed the challenges to CE practices in the leather sector context. To address this issue, this paper introduces a decision support framework for investigating the interdependencies among challenges to CE practices in the leather industry context using Rough-based Decision-Making Trail and Evaluation Laboratory (Rough DEMATEL) technique. According to the results of the study “lack of financial support from authorities” is the most pressing challenge that impede CE implementation. Findings can assist industrial decision-makers to focus on the challenges to CE practices and employ effective strategies and solutions for moving the leather industry towards sustainable development.

Managing public–private partnerships: a transmission pattern of underlying dynamics determining project performance

PurposeThe performance of public–private partnerships (PPPs) can be determined by a variety of factors, i.e. influencing factors (IFs). This study is undertaken for a purpose of identifying how such factors determine the project's performance (i.e. factor transmission patterns), particularly from the key stakeholders' perspectives.Design/methodology/approachA hybrid approach, which comprises a Social Network Analysis, ISM (i.e. Interpretive Structural Modeling) and an improved DEMATEL (i.e. Decision-Making Trail and Evaluation Laboratory), was developed to analyze the causal relationships between the identified IFs as well as the transmission patterns of their impacts on PPPs. Data were collected from interviews and questionnaire surveys.FindingsThe transmission patterns of the identified IFs cascade from project environment and features and stakeholders' relationship to the project company capabilities and project process. It is identified that the public authority has a higher level than that of the private entity in PPPs.Research limitations/implicationsIt lacks longitudinal studies to investigate the dynamics of PPP stakeholder relationships and social networks. Future research needs to explore the transmission patterns of sub-factors affecting PPP performance and extend the applicability of the developed hybrid approach.Practical implicationsThis research provides practitioners with a robust tool that is useful for and insights into enhancing the management of lifecycle performance. It ensures the public authorities and private entities embarking on PPPs will make an informed decision about the monitoring of the life cycle performance.Originality/valueThis study contributes to knowledge of managerial mechanisms that can be adopted to manage factors determining the performance of PPPs. It enables an understanding of stakeholders' roles in driving the life cycle performance of PPPs.

Decoding the Relationship of Service Operations Enablers in Healthcare Industry

The present study aims to decode the relationship among service operations enablers in healthcare industry. We identified the enablers with the help of literature and expert opinion through Delphi approach. Then, we conducted the semi-structured interview to finalize the scores of enablers in pairwise comparison matrix. We deployed the decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) in four steps to decode the degree of relationship and degree of effect and found that patient satisfaction does not directly depend on the professionalism of the staff. Location of the healthcare facility has the highest degree of relationship with other enablers, whereas the personal care abilities have a high impact on the service operations effectiveness. It is also noted that competency of pharmacist and doctor profile do not have a significant impact on service operations and thus on patient satisfaction and safety. The degree of relationship also has been presented in the form of a causal diagram toward the end of result. At the end of the study, the limitations and scope for future research are presented.

Assessment of Potential Land Suitability for Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) in Sri Lanka Using a GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Approach

The potential land suitability assessment for tea is a crucial step in determining the environmental limits of sustainable tea production. The aim of this study was to assess land suitability to determine suitable agricultural land for tea crops in Sri Lanka. Climatic, topographical and soil factors assumed to influence land use were assembled and the weights of their respective contributions to land suitability for tea were assessed using the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) and the Decision-Making Trail and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) model. Subsequently, all the factors were integrated to generate the potential land suitability map. The results showed that the largest part of the land in Sri Lanka was occupied by low suitability class (42.1%) and 28.5% registered an unsuitable land cover. Furthermore, 12.4% was moderately suitable, 13.9% was highly suitable and 2.5% was very highly suitable for tea cultivation. The highest proportion of “very highly suitable” areas were recorded in the Nuwara Eliya District, which accounted for 29.50% of the highest category. The model validation results showed that 92.46% of the combined “highly suitable” and “very highly suitable” modelled classes are actual current tea-growing areas, showing the overall robustness of this model and the weightings applied. This result is significant in that it provides effective approaches to enhance land-use efficiency and better management of tea production.

Informing energy justice based decision-making framework for waste-to-energy technologies selection in sustainable waste management: A case of Iran

Due to problems such as limited land area for waste disposal and waste-borne diseases, waste management organizations have increasingly been offering technologies for recovering energy from waste. These technologies can help governments, local authorities, developers and investors for mitigating climate change and building sustainable societies. The suitable waste-to-energy production technology selection is a complex issue in waste supply chain management that must not only be assessed in terms of both socioeconomic and environmental criteria. With the purpose of balance between energy trilemma issues in the context of waste-to-energy generation and develop sustainable waste management strategies in the waste chain, energy justice criteria must also be taken into consideration. The paper considers the application of an integrated multi-criteria decision-making model consisting of fuzzy decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory method, the analytic network process and the simple additive weighting approaches. The integrated method can be applied to select the suitable technology in a sustainable manner, taking into account energy justice criteria. The applicability of proposed model is demonstrated by a case study of the technology selection in the city of Behbahan, Iran. It includes various technologies for waste-to-energy generation and ranks technologies from the most to least preferred as: Anaerobic digestion, Gasification, Pyrolysis, and Incineration.

Analyzing environment sustainability enablers using fuzzy DEMATEL for an Indian steel manufacturing company

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the Environmental Sustainability Enablers (ESEs) for an Indian steel manufacturing company to select the appropriate set of ESEs for implementing and enhancing environmental sustainability.Design/methodology/approachA methodology using fuzzy Decision-Making Trail and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) is proposed to analyze ESEs capturing multiple experts’ qualitative judgments on their mutual impacts. It is applied to an Indian steel manufacturing company to understand the salient features of the concept.FindingsThe relevant 18 ESEs were classified into cause and effect group and also interactions (i.e. influencing and influenced) of each ESE with other ESEs were evaluated. It was observed that the five ESEs (i.e. competitors’ environmental sustainability strategy, environmental compliance certification, government regulations and incentives, influence of external factors and air pollution controlling system) are the most prominent in the cause group.Research limitations/implicationsThe results obtained are specific to an Indian steel manufacturing company and it cannot be generalized for steel manufacturing sector. However, the current paper can show direction to carry out such work in other manufacturing companies.Practical implicationsThe proposed methodology will be helpful for allocating efforts and resources to enhance the impact of ESEs for successful achievement of environmental sustainability.Originality/valueNo such paper has been reported in the literature with an objective to develop structural framework for Indian steel manufacturing company to improve environmental sustainability.

Challenges Evaluation for Adoption of SCP Practices in Footwear Industry of Bangladesh: A DEMATEL Approach

The footwear industry needs a sustainable business environment due to its remarkable contributions to the economic growth of a country. Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) practices in the footwear industry can act as a pivotal driving factor for sustainable development in footwear sector of Bangladesh. The implementation of SCP practices is not an easy task for the footwear industry since there are numerous challenges in the existing supply chain. Meanwhile, the literature reveals that the lack of studies on relevant industry motivates to carry out this research. Therefore, this research focuses on the state-of-the-art literature by identifying and finding interactions among challenges to SCP practices in the footwear supply chain. Five experts from five reputed and export-oriented footwear industries were assigned to find out the challenges regarding the SCP implementation and the most important 10 challenges were identified based on experts’ feedback. To assess the cause–effect relationship among challenges, a decision-making trail and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique, a powerful decision-making tool which can find the interactions among factors, was employed. In this study, results showed that five challenges were identified as causal group challenges and remaining five identified as effect group challenges. The causal challenges are lack of top management commitment, absence of market information of green products, inadequate training facility on SCP, motivational gap among consumers, and lack of rules and regulations on SCP practices. Those challenges have net positive influence on effect group challenges such as poor compliance practices, lack of latest technological facility, lack of acceptance on green products, lack of reverse logistics facility, and poor linkage and coordination among lead firms. These results will assist decision-makers to make strategic policy regarding implementing SCP in the footwear supply chain. This study is the first one which deals with the importance of SCP practices in the context of footwear industry, and it is also important for the sustainable development of footwear sector of Bangladesh.