Optimal Strategy Selection by Using a Combination of SWOT and Fuzzy ANP Techniques

Survival and life of an organization depend on correct decisions when facing opportunities and threats in the external environment of the organization. Since no organization can have infinite resources, strategists must decide on which strategy among various ones can lead to maximum profit. SWOT analysis enables managers to discover and identify internal and external factors affecting strategies of the organization. Therefore, the above-mentioned analysis is an appropriate tool to formulate strategies; however, it does not have the capability to evaluate the dependency of identified factors. In this study, a Fuzzy-ANP model is used to support SWOT process. This model considers not only the internal dependency of factors but also the ambiguity that appears in the opinions of decision makers by the application of the model in the fuzzy environment; although that the current techniques such as AHP consider factors independently. The network model presented here to analyze SWOT consists of four levels: the goal (best strategy) is in the first level; SWOT criteria, 4 main criteria and 24 sub-criteria are in the second and third level respectively; and finally alternatives (4 strategy). To calculate weights of SWOT factors, based on ANP method, a questionnaire in the form of paired comparison is designed and then given to the experts of the company studied. Afterwards, the geometric mean is applied, and finally based on ANP model, SO strategy with maximum weight is selected for the company.