Categorizing Small and Medium-Sized Industries with a Multi-criteria Decision-making Approach

With the aim of optimal use of facilities and preventing waste of valuable resources, industrial manufacturers have considered changes in industrial structure through increasing growth and promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises. The advantages of these enterprises have become main priorities in producing goods because of the effect of transportation, market size, and regulation. Following this objective, the present study aimed to prioritize small enterprises based on mechanisms of independence on foreign resources, improving the share of each enterprise in employment, product, and market diversity and the share of each enterprise in export. The current study is descriptive in nature and follows a survey design. Initial data was obtained through field study, library resources, and internet surfing, based on which, questionnaires were presented to the sample of the study, including the managers and experts in Firoozkooh and Tehran Industrial Towns so that they could answer the questions as case prioritization. Through studying the existing literature and taking advantage from the expert knowledge, the researcher identified intended indices for prioritizing enterprises. Finally, according to the obtained results, enterprises were prioritized in the following order: 1. Cement enterprise, 2. Construction enterprise, 3. Chemical enterprise, 4. Food material enterprise, 5. Fragment making enterprise, 6. Electronic and electricity enterprise, 7. Wood enterprise.