Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Complex Industrial Decision-Making: Methods, Applications, and Emerging Trends

Industrial decision-making has grown increasingly complex under the pressures of globalization, sustainability, and technological transformation. Engineers and managers must routinely balance conflicting criteria — cost, quality, lead time, environmental impact, and risk — across strategic, tactical, and operational decisions. Single-criterion approaches no longer suffice.Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) has emerged as a leading framework for structuring these problems. Methods such as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Analytic Network Process (ANP), Best-Worst Method (BWM), Ordinal Priority Approach (OPA), TOPSIS, PROMETHEE, and ELECTRE are now widely applied across circular economy, energy systems, production management, project portfolios, risk assessment, supply chains, sustainability, and technology management. New trends are integrating MCDA with artificial intelligence, data analytics, simulation, and life-cycle assessment, enabling more adaptive and data-informed decision support.This Research Topic aims to consolidate theoretical advances, methodological innovations, and practical applications of MCDA in real industrial contexts. We welcome contributions on topics including, but not limited to:- Methodological advances in MCDA (AHP, ANP, BWM, OPA, TOPSIS, PROMETHEE, ELECTRE, VIKOR)- Hybrid approaches with fuzzy, rough, grey, or probabilistic extensions- Integration of MCDA with AI, machine learning, and data analytics- Coupling of MCDA with simulation, optimization, and digital twins- Sustainability assessment, circular economy, and life-cycle decision-making- Energy systems, smart manufacturing, and Industry 4.0/5.0- Supply chain management, supplier selection, and resilience- Risk, safety, and reliability assessment- Project and technology portfolio management- Group decision-making and behavioural aspects of MCDA- Industrial case studies demonstrating practical impact Topic editors: Valerio Salomon, Claudemir Tramarico Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81387/multi-criteria-decision-analysis-for-complex-industrial-decision-making-methods-applications-and-emerging-trends