Nowadays we live in a world of continuous and necessary decisions in every moment of our lives. We have to make choices each moment in scenarios of a multitude of existing conflictual criteria and situations. Life requires ability to decide according to the multiple alternatives that exist in the day-to-day operandi. Recently, multiple criteria models appear in a flourishing position when allocating alternatives to predefined ordered categories considering the defined preference order on criteria scales, becoming MCDM a particularly important subfield of Operations Research and Management Sciences.

This book, “MCDM methods for Business and Management”, comprises the work of a set of important scientists and scholars, who contribute with their vision and their experience with methods in this area, applied to business and management. These methodologies, and their application within MCDM areas, are applied in a very pragmatic way. This book responds to this kind of needs. It integrates a set of methods and conceptualizations that help to find solutions for problems within Multi-criteria Decision Making Methods.

In the book, very different problems are considered and by using the context, the framework and illustrating problems, authors apply appropriate MCDM techniques and methods to propose solutions for these problems. This book embraces an innovative way for decision-making, considering the Methodology as a very first objective to work out problems.

In fact, this book is about Methods. Authors present procedures of a method (MCDM) and then use it giving then the necessary steps to apply it to a concrete case. After the presentation of the procedures of the studied MCDM methods, each one applies to an example in a specific area of business and management. 

The book is organized in a sequence of problems/chapters, with a proposed solution after applying a specific method for the particular problem. The book is composed by the following chapters:

1.    Analytic Hierarchy Process Method for Antivirus Software Selection (Mehmet Kabak and Ahmet Aktaş);
2.    Analytic Network Process Method for Staff Selection of a Public Institution Selection (Mehmet Kabak and Ahmet Aktaş);
3.    On the use of the MOORA method in the selection of investment projects (José António Filipe and António Bento Caleiro);
4.    PROMETHEE Method for a Machine Selection Problem (Metin Dagdeviren and Aylin Adem);
5.    Using the Fuzzy Linguistic Computing in the Evaluation of the value creation in an innovative product (M. I. Pedro, M. Sarmento, Marta Silva and José António Filipe);
6.    ELECTRE Method in Education: A School Selection Problem (Tuğba Kıral);
7.    Using DEA approach for the efficiency assessment of waste resources (Miguel Rocha de Sousa and Cátia Borges);
8.    Measuring the Sustainable Development of Countries: A Cross Country Comparison using VIKOR Method (Semin Paksoy);
9.    The MACBETH Approach to Evaluate Strategies for the Conservation of Architectural Heritage (Stefania Stellacci, Vasco Rato and Rosário Laureano);
10.    Fuzzy TOPSIS Method for a Tourism Destination (Tolga Genç and Jose António Filipe);
11.    Fuzzy Techniques applied in Finance Market: Findings and Implications (Renato A. Aguiar).

Authors apply MCDM methods to very different areas as shown in the referred chapters. These chapters show the diversity of phenomena to which this kind of methodology can be applied and the interesting solutions that can be obtained with. 

In general, the book aims to reach specialists in many different entrepreneurial areas, academicians and other decision makers in any social area. As this book is much about Methods, academics may also consider the book valuable for their students in order to understand the widespread aspects of these methodologies. The new contexts in current economies and societies demand new visions in decision-making processes. With this book, agents who want to be informed and use scientific methodologies to support their decisions may consider this book important for the future. In modern life, decision makers often need mathematical methods in decision-making processes. Lapses in the decision making practice often become costly and irrevocable. Anyway, citizens in general who want to be well informed about the new waves in this area also may demand information provided by this book.

The Editors,
José António Filipe
Tolga Genç