An extended outranking technique based on spherical fuzzy rough numbers for circular economy business models in small and medium-sized enterprises

The circular economic business model is designed to maximize resource use and minimize waste through practices like sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling. It promotes keeping materials and products in circulation for as long as possible. Small and medium-sized enterprises play a crucial role in developing economies, significantly contributing to global economic growth through their involvement in imports and commodity pricing. In developing nations, transitioning small and medium-sized enterprises to circular business models is essential for job creation, poverty reduction, innovation, sustainable industrialization, and reducing income disparities, though selecting the optimal model remains challenging. This research study aims to present an outranked multi-criteria group decision making technique, ELimination and Choice Expressing REality, under the consideration of spherical fuzzy rough numbers, to select the best circular business model for such enterprises by which they would make a remarkable change in the economic condition of a developing country. The proposed method integrates spherical fuzzy sets and rough set theory to enhance uncertainty management and preference modeling, enabling more robust evaluations through improved outranking relations. It identifies the best business model by comparing score degrees via concordance and discordance indices, while minimizing subjectivity with spherical fuzzy rough numbers and accounting for satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and neutrality. A case study on selecting the best business model for SMEs validates the proposed technique by averaging forward and reverse rankings to identify the top option along with limitations and future implications.