Innovative Evolutions in Multicriteria Decision-Making: Discovering Complex Challenges in Contemporary Decision-Making (2021–2023)

This review systematically analyzes 317 selected papers from 2021 to 2023, focusing on their application in addressing complex contemporary decision-making challenges linked to innovation. The selection includes 180 studies identified through trend-focused keyword searches and 137 studies centered on novel methodologies in multicriteria decision-making (MCDM), obtained through a transparent and reproducible process. The breakdown of the novel MCDM papers emphasized “integration” methods (37.2%), “introduction” methods (26.3%), and “development” methods (36.5%). Moreover, the study highlights the dominance of mathematically based (96%) and deterministic (99%) approaches, underscoring the importance of precise and quantifiable decision frameworks. The emergence of hybrid methods (18.2%), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)-integrated methods (10.9%), and uncertainty-handling methods (10.2%) signifies evolving trends in MCDM. The paper further suggests eight critical future directions, including AI integration, interdisciplinary collaboration, and data analytics, among others, to pave the way for the effective application of MCDM in diverse industries.