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A product-technology portfolio alignment approach for food industry: a multi-criteria decision making with z-numbers

Nima Garousi Mokhtarzadeh (Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran)
Hannan Amoozad Mahdiraji (School of Strategy and Leadership, Coventry University, Coventry, UK) (Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran)
Vahid Jafari-Sadeghi (School of Strategy and Leadership, Coventry University, Coventry, UK)
Arash Soltani (Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran)
AliAsghar Abbasi Kamardi (Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran)

British Food Journal

ISSN: 0007-070X

Article publication date: 3 June 2020

Issue publication date: 15 October 2020

445

Abstract

Purpose

To design a novel hybrid approach to illustrate a reciprocal alignment to integrate future products and technologies. This mixed qualitative-quantitative method aims to optimize the final product portfolio and production technologies alignment in the food industry.

Design/methodology/approach

A list of products and technologies is extracted and evaluated by experts employing Market Attractiveness and Ease of Implementations Matrix (MA-EI) for products and attractiveness and technological Capability Matrix (A-C) for technologies. Weights of high-scored alternatives are attained applying the Z-number extension of Best Worst Method (ZBWM). After the product-technology matrix is formed and the alignment scores of each pair are determined by experts. Subsequently, final scores are computed, and a framework is proposed by electing high-ranked products and technology of each cluster to form the aligned product and technology portfolios of a food and hygiene industry company.

Findings

By employing an uncertain multicriteria decision-making approach besides product and technology matrices in a food industry corporation, among 40 technology and product, 13 products by 6 technologies are proposed. Thus, only six technology are necessary to manufacture the highly important and effective products.

Originality/value

The combination of product and technology analysis matrixes with an uncertain decision-making approach is considered as a novel approach in this research. Moreover, the distinctness between the present study and other researches is the concurrent unified aspect of product portfolio and technology optimization and its implementation in the planning discussion, especially in the food industry.

Keywords

Citation

Garousi Mokhtarzadeh, N., Amoozad Mahdiraji, H., Jafari-Sadeghi, V., Soltani, A. and Abbasi Kamardi, A. (2020), "A product-technology portfolio alignment approach for food industry: a multi-criteria decision making with z-numbers", British Food Journal, Vol. 122 No. 12, pp. 3947-3967. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-02-2020-0115

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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