A systematic literature review of multicriteria and multi-objective models applied in risk management

Abstract

Multiple criteria decision making (MCDM/A) methods have been applied in many risk management contexts. This article aims to diagnose the state of the art and identify research directions of multicriteria models applied in risk management. A systematic literature review is structured in order to answer seven main research questions. The steps of the research methodology are highlighted. Data were extracted and analysed based on the main aspects of MCDM/A methods applied in risk management and risk analysis during the last 33 years. These include measuring the number of publications and citations; listing research areas and fields of applications; MCDM/A approaches and problematics; considering both group and individual decision making; discussing criteria and the number of criteria and the decision maker's (DM's) rationality, all in the context of risk management. Finally, the identification of research directions of MCDM/A models applied in risk studies aids managerial decision making since these research directions include a multidimensional view of problems and take into account the DM's preferences structure.