Who Is My Successor? Creating a Mentor–Protégé Selection and Evaluation Model Based on the Views of Mentors

The aim of this study is to understand the critical criteria that chefs employ in the process of selecting their proteges, and to create a mentor–protege selection model. This study was conducted using qualitative and quantitative methods—in-depth interviews and a cause–effect model, and the Decision-Making, Trial, and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL). The DEMATEL technique simplifies and visualizes the relationships among decision-making criteria. Participants in the qualitative approach were 36 senior chefs, and the quantitative approach was focused on 18 chefs who had an average of 25 years of tenure. This study successfully built a mentor–protege selection model and implemented an influential network relation map (INRM) for solving the interdependence and feedback of criteria of practical problems. This study determined four core criteria and 14 sub-criteria for protege selection; the results show that personal traits are the most important criteria and mutually affect interaction in the workplace, personal feelings of chefs, and character. The findings indicate that the evaluation results are valuable, and the results provide guidance for the chefs who wish to cultivate successors efficiently from the cause–effect criteria and further enhance their effectiveness and efficiency in the kitchen; it is a contribution to the mentor–protege selection in the workplace.