Using a hybrid method to evaluate service innovation in the hotel industry

Tseng, M.-L., Lin, Y.H., Lim, M. K. and Teehankee, B.L. (2015) Using a hybrid method to evaluate service innovation in the hotel industry. Applied Soft Computing, 28, pp. 411-421. (doi: 10.1016/j.asoc.2014.11.048)

Abstract

This study develops a hybrid method to improve selection decision making in service innovation. Because criteria for customer perceptions tend to be vague and conflicting, the process of evaluating perceptions (qualitative scale) and operational data (quantitative scale) should be combined. This study proposes the concomitant evaluation of qualitative and quantitative scales using a hybrid approach that combines fuzzy set theory, a discrete multi-criteria method based on prospect theory (known as TODIM in Portuguese) and the non-addictive Choquet integral. The study assumes that the criteria possess interdependent relationships. The advantages of the proposed hybrid approach, which exhibits a hierarchical structure, have been demonstrated throughout the hot spring hotel industry. The proposed method demonstrates that it can be extremely useful for recommending operational alternatives because it clearly identifies the main criteria of the expressed alternatives. The results indicate that the approach easily and effectively accommodates criteria with gain and loss functions and can help practitioners improve their performance and reduce overall service innovation risks.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This study was supported by the National Science Council (100-2914-I-262-001-A1).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lim, Professor Ming
• Authors: Tseng, M.-L., Lin, Y.H., Lim, M. K., and Teehankee, B.L.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
• Journal Name: Applied Soft Computing
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1568-4946
• Published Online: 08 December 2014