A Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Model for Selecting Knowledge Management Outsourcing Providers: A Case Study in the Insurance Industry

Outsourcing is a recommended strategy for enhancing competitive advantage. Many foreseeable issues within organizations can be mitigated by eliminating inefficient internal activities from the knowledge management (KM) process. One effective approach is to outsource parts of the KM process to an external third party.A key aspect of outsourcing is the selection of appropriate service providers. This study identifies and evaluates the criteria and dimensions for selecting knowledge management (KM) outsourcing providers within an insurance company by reviewing prior research and validating the findings with both industry and academic experts. A framework consisting of nine factors and ۳۵ indicators was developed and validated using the Fuzzy Delphi method. Subsequently, the Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (FANP) and the DEMATEL technique were employed to analyze the data and provide a comprehensive decision-making framework for selecting the most suitable KM outsourcing providers.The findings indicate that “quality” is the most influential criterion in the system, while it is the least influenced by other factors. Conversely, “specialized organizational features” are significantly affected by other criteria. According to the FANP results, “experience” holds the highest importance with a weight of ۰.۳۰۷۷۳, whereas “organizational culture” ranks lowest with a weight of ۰.۰۲۷۱۶. Finally, the outcomes of the Fuzzy Delphi and DEMATEL methods were applied in a real-world case within an insurance company to select the optimal KM service provider from two candidate firms.

Keywords:

Multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) , Knowledge Management , Outsourcing , Fuzzy Delphi , Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (FANP) , DEMATEL