| dc.description.abstract |
Supplier selection has imposed significant challenges for industrial decision-makers in the current competitive and opportunity-based market in several sectors of the economy. Sustainability has also become a crucial issue due to the global increase in concerns about industry's social, economic, and environmental impacts, especially in the context of emerging economies. However, although extant research has applied different multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods for selecting the best supplier in different industrial settings, insufficient emphasis in the literature is given to sustainable supplier selection for supporting decisions in healthcare testing facilities in emerging economies. Taking this into account, this study develops a supplier selection process for healthcare testing facilities from a sustainability perspective utilizing an integrated MCDM framework combining stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) and weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS). Identified selection criteria for the suppliers have been ranked and weighted using SWARA, while the WASPAS method has been used to select the most suitable supplier. The suppliers are later ranked using WASPAS, whose validity was tested afterward using Additive Ratio Assessment (ARAS) and Evolution based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS). A sensitivity analysis was also performed for different scenarios of interest using the WASPAS method. Overall, our findings show that stability of cost, continuous improvement and quality control, and past performance and reputation appear to be the three top-weighted criteria in the study. The findings of this research provide actionable insights to assist healthcare industry managers in responding to sustainability challenges more efficiently. The contributions of the study also inform policymakers to make more responsible decisions and establish regulations to improve sustainability in the healthcare industry in emerging economies. |
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