Using the Fuzzy DEMATEL to Determine Environmental Performance: A Case of Printed Circuit Board Industry in Taiwan

Sang-Bing Tsai; Min-Fang Chien; Youzhi Xue; Lei Li; Xiaodong Jiang; Quan Chen; Jie Zhou; Lei Wang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0129153

Using the Fuzzy DEMATEL to Determine Environmental Performance: A Case of Printed Circuit Board Industry in Taiwan

PLoS One. 2015 Jun 8;10(6):e0129153. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129153. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Sang-Bing Tsai¹, Min-Fang Chien², Youzhi Xue³, Lei Li⁴, Xiaodong Jiang⁵, Quan Chen⁶, Jie Zhou⁷, Lei Wang²

Affiliations

¹ Management School, Zhongshan Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Guangdong, 528402, China; China Academy of Corporate Governance, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China; Law School, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
² Business School, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
³ China Academy of Corporate Governance, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China; Business School, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
⁴ College of Management and Economics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
⁵ School of International Business Administration, Shanghai University of Finance & Economics, Shanghai, 200433, China.
⁶ Management School, Zhongshan Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Guangdong, 528402, China.
⁷ College of Tourism and Service Management, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.

Abstract

The method by which high-technology product manufacturers balance profits and environmental performance is of crucial concern for governments and enterprises. To examine the environmental performance of manufacturers, the present study applied Fuzzy-DEMATEL model to examine environmental performance of the PCB industry in Taiwan. Fuzzy theory was employed to examine the environmental performance criteria of manufacturers and analyse fuzzy linguistics. The fuzzy-DEMATEL model was then employed to assess the direction and level of interaction between environmental performance criteria. The core environmental performance criteria which were critical for enhancing environmental performance of the PCB industry in Taiwan were identified and presented. The present study revealed that green design (a1), green material procurement (a2), and energy consumption (b3) constitute crucial reason criteria, the core criteria influencing other criteria, and the driving factors for resolving problems.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Electronics*
Fuzzy Logic*
Industry*
Linguistics
Models, Theoretical*
Taiwan

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Department of Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, No. 11JJD630002; National Social Science Fund of China, No. 12CGL033; and National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 71372092 and No. 71132001. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.