R&D PROJECT SELECTION BY INTEGRATED GREY ANALYTIC NETWORK PROCESS AND GREY RELATIONAL ANALYSIS: AN IMPLEMENTATION FOR HOME APPLIANCES COMPANY

Abstract

For many firms, the key to improve competitiveness is their ability of research and development (R&D);therefore the R&D project selection is an essential decision process for them. In this study, we worked on R&D Project Selection issue and performed an implementation for a home appliances company. Wefirst discussed important criteria for R&D projects selection with R&D specialists in the company. Inorder to evaluate projects, many criteria, containing various sub-criteria were determined via extensiveliterature research. After reviewing multi criteria decision methods in order to handle theinterdependencies among the criteria and the sub-criteria, Analytic Network Process (ANP) was chosen.Due to being conformed to characteristics of R&D projects, the ANP model generated basing on greynumbers. Also, ANP was used to get the weight of criteria. The experts filled the pairwise comparisonmatrices, which were built up for defining the importance and influences of the criteria/sub-criteria inthe ANP model. According to these matrices, weights were determined. Then, determined alternativeprojects were ranked via Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) method. The model was applied on a real liferefrigerator projects in a home appliances company.