The Suitability-Feasibility-Acceptability Strategy Integrated with Bayesian BWM-MARCOS Methods to Determine the Optimal Lithium Battery Plant Located in South America

Sarfaraz Hashemkhani Zolfani, Ramin Bazrafshan, Fatih Ecer and Çağlar Karamaşa
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Sarfaraz Hashemkhani Zolfani: School of Engineering, Universidad Catolica del Norte, Larrondo 1281, Coquimbo 1780000, Chile
Ramin Bazrafshan: Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, Amirkabir University of Technology (Teran Polytechnic), Tehran 15875-4413, Iran
Fatih Ecer: Sub-Department of Operations Research, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Afyon Kocatepe University, 03200 Afyonkarahisar, Turkey
Çağlar Karamaşa: Faculty of Business, Department of Business Administration, Anadolu University, 26470 Eskişehir, Turkey

Mathematics, 2022, vol. 10, issue 14, 1-18

Abstract: This study aims to help managers develop a proper strategy and policy for their company’s future. After the global COVID-19 pandemic, developed countries decided to change their production and relocate and re-industrialize. The U.S.’s big electronics and automobile companies are not an exception to this rule. The lithium batteries are the main instrument of mobile phone and electric vehicles. The leading lithium battery supplier for the U.S mobile phone companies is China. Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile (in South America) have some of the largest lithium mines in the world; these countries are known as the lithium triangle. Among the 86 million tonnes of lithium resources worldwide, 49.9 million tonnes exist in this area. The researchers in this study surveyed the best country for constructing a battery for companies in the U.S. Because of the growth of electric vehicles and their use of the lithium battery, the world is facing astronomical prices for lithium. To emphasize this issue and help managers create good policy, this study combined multiple methods. The improved suitability-feasibility-acceptability (SFA) strategy is integrated with the Bayesian best-worst method (BBWM) and measurement of alternatives and rankings according to compromise solution (MARCOS) multicriteria methods to determine the best destination. For comparison, based on the SFA strategy, seven criteria are introduced: commercially viable reserves, national minimum wage, corporate income tax, accessibility to mining companies, accessibility to the waterway, population, and political stability index. The Bayesian BWM analysis reveals that the foremost factor is corporate income tax, whereas MARCOS’s findings indicate that Chile is the best country to construct the lithium battery industry. To verify the proposed approach, a comparison analysis also is performed.

Keywords: suitability-feasibility-acceptability (SFA); site selection; lithium battery; foreign markets; bayesian bwm; marcos (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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