Knowledge Economy Studies

A Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Model for Selecting Knowledge Management Outsourcing Providers: A Case Study in Insurance Industry

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Leili Niakan 1
Ameneh Khadivar 2
Behnaz Heidari Dehoee 3

1 Corresponding Author, Assistance Professor, General Insurance Group, Insurance Research Center, Tehran, Iran E-mail: niakan@irc.ac.ir

2 Associate Professor, Department of Management, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran E-mail: a.khadivar@alzahra.ac.ir

3 Master's degree in IT Management, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran E-mail: behnaz.hd70@gmail.com

https://doi.org/10.22034/kes.2025.2064524.1066
Abstract
Outsourcing is a recommended strategy for enhancing competitive advantages. Many foreseeable issues within organizations can be mitigated by eliminating inefficient internal activities from the Knowledge Management (KM) process. One effective approach is to outsource parts of the KM process to an external third party. A key aspect of outsourcing is the selection of appropriate service providers. This study identifies and evaluates the criteria and dimensions for selecting KM outsourcing providers within an insurance company by reviewing the prior research and validating the findings with both industry and academic experts. A framework consisting of nine factors and 35 indicators was developed and validated using the Fuzzy Delphi method. Subsequently, the Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (FANP) and the DEMATEL technique were employed to analyze the data and provide a comprehensive decision-making framework for selecting the most suitable KM outsourcing providers. The findings indicated that “quality” is the most influential criterion in the system, while it is the least influenced by other factors. Conversely, “specialized organizational features” are significantly affected by other criteria. According to FANP results, “experience” holds the highest importance with a weight of 0.30773, whereas “organizational culture” ranks lowest with a weight of 0.02716. Finally, the outcomes of the Fuzzy Delphi and DEMATEL methods were applied in a real-world case within an insurance company to select the optimal KM service provider from two candidate firms.

Keywords

Multicriteria decision-making (MCDM)
Knowledge Management
Outsourcing
Fuzzy Delphi
Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (FANP)
DEMATEL

Subjects

 
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Knowledge Economy Studies
Volume 2, Issue 2
October 2025
Pages 7-25

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