Using a Multi-Criteria Group Decision Making Approach to Select Merged Strategies for Commercial Banks

This investigation develops an analytic hierarchy framework to help banks choose development strategies according to six main criteria comprising 41 attributes, namely management performance, staff rights and interests, customer orientation, financial analysis, government policy and risk management. Questionnaires are administered to compare the priorities of different criteria and the ratings of feasible developmental strategies amongst decision makers and respondents including bank superintendents (Department of Finance), economists, shareholders, customers, executives and staff of the Bank of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Additionally, the analytic hierarchy process and consistent fuzzy preference relation are used to improve consistency and effectiveness in decision making. The analytical results reveal that risk management and customer orientation are the most important considerations for the Bank of Kaohsiung in the development of a strategy selection. Furthermore, the staff select the best futuristic policy on “focusing on core business competitiveness to become a specialized and stable bank,” whereas the other five groups choose the strategy of “merging with other finance organizations to become an existing bank.”