Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping for MIS Decision-Making

Author(s):  
Amir Sharif ◽  
Zahir Irani
2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anandajit Goswami ◽  
Kaushik Ranjan Bandyopadhyay ◽  
Atul Kumar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of rural energy transition in cooking options in India. Although India is aiming to achieve a double-digit economic growth, a large share of rural households still rely on firewood for cooking which not only has serious repercussions of increasing indoor pollution but also has a concomitant adverse effect on women and child morbidity and mortality. However, transition to clean energy options like improved cookstoves for these households may not be necessarily linear. It is often driven or resisted by latent factors such as caste, trust, social capital, information flow, social positioning of clusters that are deeply embedded in the social and cultural norms and values specific to local rural contexts. This has been shown in the present case study that pertains to eight villages in the remote and deprived Purnea district of Bihar and the need for internalizing them in the macro energy policymaking has been established in the paper. Design/methodology/approach The paper applies a macro foundation research that is complemented by micro foundation tools of fuzzy cognitive mapping-based mental model framework to achieve the purpose of the study. Focused-group discussions and interviews are also conducted to establish the narrative of the paper. Findings Caste, socio-political position, asset structure, remoteness, culture and technology access affect rural households’ decision making capability that is related to shifting from using the traditionalmeans of firewood and biomass based traditional cookstoves for cooking to adopting improved clean cooking stoves which will enable the transition toward the use of clean rural energy in the eight villages in Bihar chosen for this study. Research limitations/implications The findings of the paper have larger implications for the broader macro energy policymaking in the country by taking into account the non-linear, latent factors of village contexts. Practical implications The research will help energy policymakers in decision-making and will guide the implementation process of national- and state-level policies on rural energy transition in India. Social implications The findings of the paper will help the smoother implementation of national- and state-level rural energy transition policies for cooking, creating developmental dividends for rural Indian households. Originality/value The research is new with regard to the application of non-deterministic fuzzy cognitive mapping-based mental model approach to contribute to the country’s national- and state-level rural energy transition policies.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anji Benhamed ◽  
Said EL Hajjar ◽  
Fatima Hamad Yaseen ◽  
Noamen Amara

PurposeThis study explores how entrepreneurs modify their financial path(s) and go beyond job security to attain greater financial freedom. The present work examines the cash-flow quadrant (CFQ) attributes and demonstrates the importance of the push-pull factors for an individual's quadrant transition in achieving financial freedom.Design/methodology/approachA hypothetical model and an abductive approach were used through regression models in a population sample of 260 Bahraini entrepreneurs. Fuzzy participatory cognitive mapping was also used to develop a conceptual model of financial path transition's decision making among entrepreneurs and study the impact of certain push-pull factors on the entrepreneurs' decisions.FindingsThe triangulated study identifies six categories of variables: financial freedom, workplace condition, independence, salary level, family life-building and retirement savings as key pull-push factors that significantly impact financial path transition's decision. Fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) extends our knowledge of the dynamics of CFQ transitions from a push-pull factor perspective. The results indicate no significant differences between the variables listed in the regression model and the fuzzy cognitive map model. Four categories of pull-push factors appeared as the entrepreneurs' top rankings when ordered by complexity, centrality scores and impact weight. These categories were workplace conditions, financial freedom, independence and salary level. The findings widen the scope of knowledge of each quadrant and rationalize how and why such factors impact quadrant decisions among Bahraini entrepreneurs.Originality/valueMany studies discuss the CFQ model and consider its quadrants a specific method for identifying a unique financial path to generate income. A shifting quadrant occurs when individuals want to change their financial path and move beyond job security to achieve more financial freedom. Although this transition is well-established in the literature, the factors accounting for the individual's transition across quadrants have not received enough attention. This study fills this gap and calls for more in-depth investigations of this area to better understand the dynamics of CFQ transitions from a push-pull factor perspective.


Author(s):  
Leandro F. Pereira ◽  
Ricardo J. C. Correia ◽  
Fernando A. F. Ferreira ◽  
Pedro F. Falcão ◽  
Renato L. Costa

2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (3) ◽  
pp. 003685042110294
Author(s):  
Jayme E Locke ◽  
Rhiannon D Reed ◽  
Richard M Shewchuk ◽  
Katherine L Stegner ◽  
Haiyan Qu

Making up 13.4% of the United States population, African Americans (AAs) account for 28.7% of candidates who are currently waiting for an organ donation. AAs are disproportionately affected by end-organ disease, particularly kidney disease, therefore, the need for transplantation among this population is high, and the high need is also observed for other solid organ transplantation. To this end, we worked with the AA community to derive an empirical framework of organ donation strategies that may facilitate AA decision-making. We used a cognitive mapping approach involving two distinct phases of primary data collection and a sequence of data analytic procedures to elicit and systematically organize strategies for facilitating organ donation. AA adults ( n = 89) sorted 27 strategies identified from nominal group technique meetings in phase 1 based on their perceived similarities. Sorting data were aggregated and analyzed using Multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analyses. Among 89 AA participants, 68.2% were female, 65.5% obtained > high school education, 69.5% reported annual household income ≤ $50,000. The average age was 47.4 years (SD = 14.5). Derived empirical framework consisted of five distinct clusters: fundamental knowledge, psychosocial support, community awareness, community engagement, and system accountability; and two dimensions: Approach, Donor-related Information. The derived empirical framework reflects an organization scheme that may facilitate AA decision-making about organ donation and suggests that targeted dissemination of donor-related information at both the individual-donor and community levels may be critical for increasing donation rates among AAs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 480-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joana M. Gonçalves ◽  
Fernando A.F. Ferreira ◽  
João J.M. Ferreira ◽  
Luís M.C. Farinha

PurposeSmall- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have become increasingly important in national and international markets because they contribute to the development of local and national economies. SMEs often face serious challenges when competing with multinational companies. The purpose of this paper is to develop a method for assessing SMEs’ competitiveness.Design/methodology/approachBased on a constructivist epistemology, this study makes an integrated use of cognitive mapping and the measuring attractiveness by a categorical-based evaluation technique (MACBETH). To this end, face-to-face sessions were conducted with a panel of entrepreneurs and senior managers who deal with the challenges of maintaining SME competitiveness every day. The proposed assessment system was tested and validated by the panel members.FindingsThe methodological processes adopted in this study provide promising results for decision makers seeking to identify the most competitive SMEs. Specifically, the results emphasize, among other points, the importance of innovation and the human dimension to gaining competitive advantages.Research limitations/implicationsThe evaluation system developed in this study is extremely versatile and confirms the usefulness of integrating cognitive mapping and MACBETH to facilitate evaluations of SME competitiveness. However, due to its idiosyncratic and process-oriented nature, generalizations need to be done with caution.Practical implicationsThe proposed method can be valuable to researchers seeking to develop mechanisms for evaluating SMEs’ entrepreneurial performance and include specialized know-how and sensemaking in organizational decision-making processes.Originality/valueThe integrated use of cognitive maps and MACBETH contributes to a better understanding of how to assess SMEs’ competitiveness. No prior work reporting the use of this dual methodology in this study context has been found.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document