Manufacturing applications of the VIKOR approach: A scoping review

VIKOR is a selecting and sorting technique for addressing problems and optimising multi-criteria decision making in complex systems. This study sought the relevant literature to categorise, analyse, and discuss the content and extent of existing studies that used the VIKOR method for applications in manufacturing. The study examined 84 studies published throughout 2018–2020. The studies were categorised by publication dates, author(s) name, techniques and methods, weighting method, comparison method, description of comparison results (comparing a given method to others), testing applicability, and journal-title. Analyses revealed that approximately 35 of the published studies involving VIKOR were related to its strategic use in manufacturing decisions and applications. In 2019, manufacturing was represented more than any other field among all published VIKOR papers, and Sustainability published more of the VIKOR-related articles than any other journal. Interestingly, the integrated and fuzzy VIKOR methods were used more than the traditional VIKOR method. Furthermore, the review results show that VIKOR is flexible enough to be continuously improved by integrating it with the new multi-criteria decision-making methods. This literature review can guide researchers and practitioners in applying VIKOR in various manufacturing fields.