Innovation strategy evaluation process using fuzzy cognitive mapping

Innovation is a crucial tool for the firms to compete; thus defining the factors, which affect this process, is necessary to give a quick response to the changes. Therefore, finding a suitable innovation strategy is a vital problem for companies. When the relationships among the innovation strategy selection factors are considered, the innovation strategy evaluation process becomes complicated and necessitates a multi-criteria support. In this work, we concentrate on the conceptual model that reveals the determinants of innovation strategy. First, we explain the factors and their relations with each other based on the literature survey and the experts’ opinion. This suggested framework is suitable for every firm and generally accepted. Due to the complex nature and sophisticated environment of the problem on hand, an appropriate multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method would be used to model the problem. As a consequence, as there are interrelations among the related factors, we use fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) approach which can utilize such network models. To explain the positions of factors in the long run, how they are affected by other factors, scenarios are performed and results are discussed. Our study shows that, although the strategy evaluation process is complex, the decision makers can apply FCM approach easily in the light of our conceptual model.