Partner selection and performance evaluation framework for a construction-related virtual enterprise: a multi-agent systems approach

To exploit market opportunities, disparate enterprises can pool their core competencies to form a temporary organisation. This inter-organisational collaboration of enterprises is commonly referred to as a virtual enterprise (VE). However, the VEs’ partner selection problems influence their overall performance. Due to the limited construction-specific studies on the evaluation and selection of partners, the current research sought to address this knowledge gap by investigating the partner selection problem. The partners comprising 10 construction companies carrying out project tasks for a large building in Nairobi, Kenya, were evaluated. Data were collected using a sequential mixed-methods approach consisting of a focus group interview, questionnaires and algorithms. The study proposed the use of the partner selection and performance evaluation technique. This technique combines fuzzy approximate reasoning with the conventional analytic hierarchy process algorithm, designed to deal with imprecise evaluators’ judgments. A multi-agent systems approach was chosen to simulate VEs. Results show that the chosen techniques are both efficient and effective. In particular, the reduced group fuzzy analytic hierarchy process reduces the number of pairwise comparisons required when comparing a large number of attributes. Application to the construction management domain, in particular, is germane to the research.