Applying a fuzzy‐morphological approach to complexity within management decision making

Purpose – Noting the scarcity of complexity techniques applied to modelling social systems, this paper attempts to formulate a conceptual model of decision‐making behaviour within the information systems evaluation (ISE) task, against the backdrop of complexity theory.Design/methodology/approach – Complexity theory places an emphasis on addressing how dynamic non‐linear systems can be represented and modelled utilising computational tools and techniques to draw out inherent system dynamics. In doing so, the use of fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) and morphological analysis (MA) (hence a fuzzy‐morphological approach), is applied to empirical case study data, to elucidate the inherent behavioural and systems issues involved in ISE decision making within a British manufacturing organisation.Findings – The paper presents results of applying a combined FCM and MA approach to modelling complexity within management decision making in the ISE task: both in terms of a cognitive map of the key decision criteria; a mat...

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