Decision-making process by multi-criteria hierarchical analysis for the appraisal of entrepreneurial projects

Abstract

This research aims to develop a design for the selection of entrepreneurship projects using a multi-criteria decision method. The Design Science Research (DSR) approach is used through the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a methodology applied to entrepreneurship projects in accounting. The results obtained correspond to the hierarchical multi-criteria design, the application of which has allowed the establishment of a ranking of the best entrepreneurial projects analyzed. The work systematizes the decision-making process by proposing a structure of criteria and sub-criteria that applies David McClelland's characteristics of entrepreneurial success and the stages to be followed for the evaluation of projects, avoiding decision-making processes that rely on intuition or that oversimplify the variables to be considered. The relevance and originality of the work focuses on the study of the decision-making process in a relatively unstudied area such as entrepreneurship, considering the greater organizational complexity. This work enables the optimization of the decision-making process in the entities and bodies responsible for evaluating and granting funding to this type of project.