Research on Virtual Enterprise Partner Selection Based on Fuzzy Number Ranking Score with Distance-area Index

it is very crucial for virtual enterprises to select the suitable partners when facing unprecedented opportunities and challenges. Most research in this area relies on the Analytic Hierarchy Process method. However, an alternative and potentially more effective approach is proposed by using the fuzzy number ranking score model to assess virtual enterprise partners, yet there has been limited investigation in this direction. In our paper, we establish evaluation criteria for selecting partners for virtual enterprises, including capability, efficiency, cost, risk, goal congruence, and trust level. Subsequently, we develop a ranking score model based on distance-index and area-index for these six criteria in the fuzzy environment. Additionally, the score function is calculated to rank potential virtual enterprise partners by considering defuzzification value, dispersion degree, and positive-negative area indices. Furthermore, the empirical analysis verifies the effectiveness of this method to solve the problem of partner selection in virtual enterprises. The results will help decision makers to make the right selections and decisions.