Data envelopment analysis based comparison of two hybrid multi-criteria decision-making approaches for mobile phone selection: a case study in Iranian telecommunication environment

The arrival of the mobile phone and its rapid and widespread growth may well be seen as one of the most significant developments in the fields of communication and information technology over the past two decades. The aim of this study is to compare two hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches to evaluate the mobile phone options with respect to user's preferences. Firstly, we identify the most desirable features influencing the choice of a mobile phone. This is realised through a survey conducted among the target group, the experiences of the telecommunication sector experts and the studies in the literature. Secondly, two MCDM methods are used in the evaluation procedure. More precisely, two hybrid methods 'analytic hierarchy process-voting analytic hierarchy process (AHP-VAHP) and AHP-entropy-technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS)' are compared in ranking the mobile phone alternatives. A case study is made at a telecommunication centre in Iran to investigate both techniques. Considering the same ranking of the two methods, the numerical results are evaluated using data envelopment analysis to identify the most beneficial method.