Int J Syst Assur Eng ManagDOI

Int J Syst Assur Eng Manag
DOI 10.1007/s13198-014-0283-9

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Strategic business unit ranking based on innovation performance: a case study of a steel manufacturing company
Behrooz Noori

Received: 15 January 2014 / Revised: 27 June 2014
Ó The Society for Reliability Engineering, Quality and Operations Management (SREQOM), India and The Division of Operation and
Maintenance, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden 2014

Abstract Corporations may be composed of multiple strategic business units (SBUs), each of which is responsible for its own profitability. Innovation performance management of SBUs boosts corporation business results.
In the present work, SBU ranking based on innovation performance was addressed. The contribution of the proposed model was threefold: (1) it proposed a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for SBU ranking; (2) it provided a comprehensive and systematic framework that combined balanced scorecard (BSC) and fuzzy AHP; and (3) it explored practical application and illustrated the efficacy of the procedures and algorithms. It used a real-world case study in a large steel manufacturing company to present the applicability of the system. Finding SBU priorities would help the corporations to develop strategies and policies to manage and improve SBU performance.
Keywords Strategic business unit Á Innovation performance management Á SBU performance Á Balanced scorecard Á Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process Á Steel sector

1 Introduction
Despite the advances in technology and innovation, many of companies do not measure or assess innovation performance and do not have an internal system to measure innovation performance (Hamel 2006). In the current economic situation, innovation is a high strategic priority

B. Noori (&)
Department of Industrial Engineering, West Tehran Branch,
Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran e-mail: [e-mail]

for most companies, and many see it as a strong contributor to growth. Yet, many also struggle

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