A Three-Stage Decision Model Integrating FAHP, MDS and Association Rules for Targeting Smartphone Customers

Human living consists of a series of decision making that involves a lot of decision objectives and factors. Decision makers would be concerned with the best selection among different alternatives. In this study, we propose a three-stage decision making model combining with Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP), Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) and Association Rules (AR). The proposed model enables decision makers to find out the importance of each decision criterion and select the optimal alternative for solving decision problems. We applied the proposed model to understand the consumer’s evaluation factors in their smartphone purchasing. In stage I, the FAHP analysis results indicate the decision criteria as follows. When customers intend to buy a smartphone, the order of importance of their decision criteria is as follows: display size, thickness, and hardware efficiency. Further, in stage II, several interesting AR analysis rules reveal that consumers of high self-glory would consider the hardware efficiency and the pixel of lens of the product when they purchase a smartphone. Finally, through the perceptual map of MDS in stage III, we can classify consumers into four groups, namely, “students”, “IT professionals”, “house brokers and bankers & insurers”, and “teachers and healthcare workers”. Customers in the same group have similar evaluation criteria in their smartphone purchasing. The integrated decision model proposed in this study can help the suppliers in making right marketing strategies for different consumer groups, and can also be applied in various fields for decision marking in the future.