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The information technology (IT) outsourcing (ITO) decision is a key issue in strategic and operational management and is considered a main critical factor influencing successful organizational performance and technology assessment. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework combining value-focused thinking (VFT) methodology and the FITradeoff method to support decisions regarding ITO.

This study answers the following questions: How to identify, in a structured way, the objectives that should be considered in an ITO decision process in a changing environment? How to identify new IT services to be outsourced from the established objectives? The VFT method is recommended in this case to structure and model the problem. Moreover, the FITradeoff multicriteria method was considered in this study to support the evaluation and prioritization of IT services in an ITO decision

The framework provides promising results for ITO decisions. This study revealed that a lack of strategic and fundamental objectives is a critical issue in making ITO decisions. Although the VFT methodology is subjective in nature, it promotes a better understanding of goals and values, and FITradeoff allows the decision-maker to make comparisons of consequences based on his/her preferences.

The recommendations of the study are restricted to the case study and cannot be generalized. In addition, applying the method requires attention in determining the criteria used for outsourcing IT.

The strategic analysis of ITO provides a holistic view of the current situation since (i) the VFT methodology enables the IT manager to generate new alternatives to assist future decisions and (ii) FITradeoff has been demonstrated as a suitable option to evaluate ITO decisions.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to utilize a problem structuring method (VFT) to identify criteria and alternatives based on the organizational values and objectives. This is integrated with a multicriteria method that uses partial information and may consequently lead to fewer inconsistencies (FITradeoff) in the context of ITO.

Quantitative objective studies on the problem of celebrity selection are lacking. Furthermore, existing research does not recognize the group decision-making nature and the possibility of customer involvement in celebrity or influencer selection for social media marketing. This study conceptualizes celebrity selection as a multi-attribute group decision-making problem while deriving the final ranking of celebrities/influencers using interactive and flexible criteria based on the value tradeoff approach. The article thus proposes and demonstrates a quantitative objective method of celebrity selection for a brand or campaign in an interactive manner incorporating customer's preferences as well.

Each decision-maker's preferences for celebrity selection criteria are objectively captured and converted into an overall group preference using a modified generalized fuzzy evaluation method (MGFEM). The final ranking of celebrities is then derived from an interactive and criteria-based value tradeoff approach using the flexible and interactive tradeoff method.

The approach gives a different ranking of celebrities for two campaigns based on group members' perceived importance of the selection criteria in different scenarios. This group includes decision-makers (DMs) from the brand, marketing communication agency and brand's customers. Further, each group member has an almost equal say in the decision-making based on fuzzy evaluation and an interactive and flexible value tradeoff approach to celebrity selection for receiving a rank order.

The approach uses secondary data on celebrities and hypothetical scenarios. Comparison with other methods is difficult, as no other study proposes a multi-criteria group decision-making approach to celebrity selection especially in a social media context.

This approach can help DMs make more informed, objective and effective decisions on celebrity selection for their brands or campaigns. It recognizes that there are multiple stakeholders, including the end customers, each of whose views is objectively considered in the aspects of group decision-making through a fuzzy evaluation method. Further, this study provides a selection mechanism for a given context of endorsement by objectively and interactively encapsulating stakeholder preferences.

This robust and holistic approach to celebrity selection can help DMs objectively make consensual decisions with partial or complete information. This quantitative approach contributes to the literature on selection mechanisms of influencers, celebrities, social media opinion leaders etc. by providing a methodological aid that encompasses aspects of interactive group decision-making for a given context. Moreover, this method is useful to DMs and stakeholders in understanding and incorporating the effect of nature or context of the brand and the campaign type in the selection of a celebrity or an influencer.

This paper reviews and analyses renewable energy options, namely underground thermal, solar, wind and marine wave energy, in seaport cargo terminal operations.

Four renewable energy options that are deployed or tested in different ports around the world are qualitatively examined for their overall implementation potential and characteristics, and their cost and benefits. An application to the port of Singapore is discussed.

Geophysical conditions are key criteria in assessing renewable energy options. In the case of Singapore, solar power is the only suitable renewable energy option.

Being a capital-intensive establishment with high intensities of cargo operations, seaports usually involve a high level of energy consumption. The study of renewable energy options contributes to seaport sustainability.

A key recommendation is to implement a smart energy management system that enables the mixed use of renewable energy to match energy demand and supply optimally and achieve higher energy efficiency.

The use of renewable energy as an eco-friendlier energy source is underway in various ports. However, there is almost no literature that analyses and compares various renewable energy options potentially suitable for cargo terminal operations in ports. This paper narrows the knowledge gaps.

Understanding the relational factors in information technology outsourcing (ITO) processes is essential for managers to exercise successful governance over their relationship. Based on this premise, this paper aims to present a study about relational factors using judgments of managers from small and medium-sized supplying and contracting companies involved in ITO relationships, helping to understand the differences between what they believe to be relevant for maintaining the relationships.

The analytical approach consisted of applying fuzzy sets theory elements, converting the managers' judgments into crisp values through a defuzzification process, and the multicriteria method ELECTRE IV that created the rankings of the relational factors according to the defuzzified judgments. The approach was applied with 16 managers from supplying companies and 34 from contracting companies, in both cases located in a large Brazilian pole of information technology.

The main findings indicate that suppliers are initially more concerned with contractual aspects, being in the highest positions in the ranking: detailed contract, service level agreement and costs. Only after these elements, suppliers prioritize aspects less linked to the contract. For contractors, customer relationship management is the most important, followed by costs and commitment by managers, which indicates more openness to issues-oriented to relational development.

The approach adopted in this article is differentiated by prioritizing relational factors that are not always directly perceived in ITO relationships. Another important consideration is that most studies focus only on the perspective of supplier selection by contracting companies. In this paper, both suppliers' and contractors' judgments on the importance of ITO relational factors were analyzed, creating rankings that supported understanding the difference between the two perspectives.

Several countries have carried out air quality monitoring in professional workplaces where chemicals are used. Health-care spaces have been less investigated. This paper aims to define a protocol, as developed by a research group, for inpatient rooms to understand the state of the art and to suggest design and management strategies for improving process quality.

Starting from the ISO-16000 standard and guidelines for monitoring activities, a protocol is defined for a one year investigation, with passive samplers. Through data analysis of the investigations and analysis of the cleaning and finishing products, heating, ventilation and air conditioning and maintenance activities, etc., it is possible to highlight the potential influences of chemical pollution.

A methodology is defined for understanding the chemical pollution and the possible factors related to construction materials, cleaning products and maintenance activities.

The paper analyzes only a limited number of case studies because the monitoring activity is still in progress.

The investigation offers a starting point for a wide tool for the definition of design, maintenance and management strategies in health-care facilities.

The research project, aimed at improving the knowledge of indoor air quality (IAQ) in inpatient rooms, is a starting point for a supporting tool for future regulations concerning health-care facilities.

IAQ is an issue on which many governments are focusing. Several health-care researchers have reported studies that aim at improving users’ health. Most investigations are about biological and physical risks, but chemical risks have been less studied. The paper suggests some design and management strategies for inpatient room.

Several healthcare quality assessment tools measure the processes and outcomes of the care system. The actual physical infrastructure (buildings and organizational) aspects are, however, rarely considered. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of validation and weighting of an evidence-informed framework for the quality assessment of hospital facilities from social, environmental and organizational perspectives to complement other assessments.

Sustainable High-quality Healthcare version 2 (SustHealth v2) is the updated version of an existing framework composed of three domains (social, environmental and organizational quality). To validate and establish a relevant weighting, interviews were conducted with 15 professionals within the field of healthcare planning, design, research and management. The study has been conducted through semi-structured interviews and the application of the Simon Roy Figueras (SRF) procedure for the elicitation of weights criteria. The data collected have been processed through the DecSpace web platform.

Among the three domains, the organizational qualities appear to be the most important (W = 49%), followed by the environmental (W = 29%) and social aspects (W = 22%). Relevant indicators such as future-proofing, wayfinding and users’ space control emerged as the most important within each macro-area. Those results are confirmed by the outcome of the interviews that highlight user/patient-centeredness, wayfinding strategies and space functionality as the most important concepts to foster in existing healthcare facilities improvement.

The study highlights important structural and organizational aspects that hospital managers and planners can consider when dealing with healthcare facilities’ quality improvement.

The use of the SRF multicriteria method is novel in this context when used to weight an assessment tool with a focus on hospital built environment.

The purpose of this study is to provide a model for evaluating, prioritizing and allocating orders to suppliers in the supply chain for mega-projects.

By using an integrated model (based on fuzzy analytic network process), suppliers are selected and the appropriate amounts are allocated to them in mega-projects. Initially, a hierarchical model of the research method was introduced. Then, the results on reliability and validity analysis of research measurement tools were presented. Finally, prioritization and allocation of orders to suppliers, with a case study of Iran Mall project, was carried out using Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and analytic network process (ANP). T-test was used to evaluate the research hypotheses.

The findings were examined against conventional numerical analysis techniques. Finally, implication and recommendations for future work were presented.

The originality of this work is about using multi-criteria decision-making techniques for evaluating suppliers in mega-projects.

The cost-optimal analysis is not able to address the multi-dimensionality of the decision according to the new European objectives and International sustainable development goals in the field of the nearly-zero energy building (NZEB) design. The purpose of this paper is to study the role of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) for guiding energy investment decisions.

The paper explores the Preference ranking organization method for enrichment of evaluations II (PROMETHEE II) application to support the project of transforming a rural building into a NZEB. The evaluation provides an estimate of the effects of alternative energy efficiency measures, involving energy consumption, life cycle costs, carbon emissions, property value and indoor comfort criteria. The study performs a multi-actors analysis in order to understand how different consumers' point of views can influence the final choice of the best investment. Furthermore, a multi-site analysis explores the spatial variation of NZEB building appreciation in the real estate market.

The PROMETHEE II-based model ranks 16 alternative solutions for the NZEB according to energy, economic and extra-economic criteria. The multi-actors analysis highlights the configuration of the NZEB building that best meets the needs of different end-users, respecting the European directives and national standards. The multi-site analysis concludes that location does not change users' appreciation and not influence the output for the best solution.

The MCDA occurs as a support tool that helps to optimize the preliminary design phase of NZEB through the exploration of the optimal solution considering crucial criteria in the energy and environmental and real estate market rules.