MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION-MAKING METHODS (MCDM): A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS (1974-2024)

Purpose- Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is considered a complex decision-making (DM) tool that integrates both quantitative and qualitative factors.In recent years, various MCDM techniques and approaches have been proposed to select the best possible alternative. The overall aim of this study was to identify the tendencies and trends of the discipline over the past 50 years by conducting a bibliometric analysis of 10,387 studies published between 1974 and 2024 in the realm of multi-criteria decision-making methods (MCDM). Methodology- In this regard, the Web of Science Core Collection database was utilized to retrieve articles related to “Multiple criteria decision-making”, from which bibliometric data were extracted and analyzed. These studies were analyzed within the context of the number of publications by year, types of publications, language of publications, citation analysis, cooperation among countries, common citation networks and concept-topic orientations Findings- The analysis unveiled a rapid increase in the number of publications after 2012, with studies predominantly taking the form of articles and being published in English. Besides, engineering emerged as the field with the highest number of publications, with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) being the most frequently used concepts. Zavadskas was identified as the author with the most publications and most cited on the subject. The journal with the highest number of citations was European Journal of Operational Research. Furthermore, the USA and China play a pivotal role in cooperation between countries. Conclusion- This study is expected to make a valuable contribution to the relevant field as a determinant of some of the most effective researches, including influential journals, articles and authors in MCDM. Moreover, it may serve as a guide for researchers in terms of documenting the common tendencies in the field of MCDM Keywords: Decison, decision making, multi-criteria decision making, bibliometric analysis, network analysis JEL Codes: C00, C02, C60