Evaluating firm's sustainable production indicators in uncertainty

Sustainable production indicators (SPIs) is a complex and uncertainty concept that is difficult in determining multiple qualitative criteria. Significant efforts have been made related to the measures of SPIs effectiveness. However, a generalized quantitative evaluation model, which considers both the interdependence relation between criteria and the fuzziness of subjective perception concurrently, is lacking. This study evaluates the performance of synthetic SPIs by adopting fuzzy measure and analytical network process (ANP) method in a multi-nation original equipment manufacturing firm. The analytical results indicated that the ANP is a simple, suitable, and effective method for identifying the primary criteria influencing SPIs at case firms, especially when evaluation criteria are interactive and interdependent. The proposed approach is an effective method for assessing the SPIs of a firm and obtains useful information regarding hierarchical framework. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.