*4.3. Data Collection, Analysis and Results*

The data were collected in two parts from expert opinions and public databases. Since the importance of the evaluating criteria reflects the company's needs, the opinions of the working group must be included in the survey to obtain the influential weights. In the survey, experts were asked to make pairwise comparisons of the degree of influence from criterion *i* to *j*. After the survey, a 16 by 16 matrix was obtained based on each expert's opinions, called the direct relationship matrix *E*. All the experts' results were calculated using Equation (2) to obtain the average direct impact relationship matrix *E* AVG. Table 2 shows the average direct-influence relationship matrix. It can be found that *C*<sup>4</sup> and *C*<sup>5</sup> have a maximum impact (4 points) on *C*1, which shows that Security and Institutions have a high degree of impact on Macroeconomic stability.

**Table 2.** Average direct-influence relation matrix of each criteria.


The scales 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 represent the range from "no influence (0)" to "extremely high influence (4)", respondents by experts.

In the second part of the data collection process, data for the five potential locations were collected from the public database of the World Economic Forum (see Table 3). The data shows that Taiwan has the highest score on Macroeconomic. Prior studies have also found that Macroeconomic stability has significant impact on foreign investment [66]. Therefore, Macroeconomic stability is one of Taiwan's important advantages in attracting foreign investment.

Tables 3 and 4 show the input data of analysis used by the proposed DANP-mV model. Following the steps outlined in Section 3, five outputs are obtained—(1) the INRM; (2) influential weights (IWs); (3) objective weights (OWs); (4) combination weights (CWs); (5) comparison and ranking of alternatives. DEMATEL can be used to derive the INRM (Figure 2) which provides a visual basis to help decision makers formulate sustainable development strategies for improvement. An examination of Figure 2 shows that Sustainability and Innovation (*D*5) and Business dynamism (*D*3) are causal factors in the whole system, whereas Government and Governance (*D*2), Infrastructure (*D*4) and Economy and Market (*D*1) are affected factors. In addition, this study finds that Government and Governance (*D*2) has the greatest influence on the entire evaluation system, which is similar to the results of Janssen and Van Der Voort [67]. This also shows that the quality of local governance plays an important role. A stable, more credible and effective and less corrupt system will affect the choice of this location for foreign investors.


**Table 3.** Performance of five potential alternatives.

The scale will be between 0 and 100, with higher values indicating better performance. <sup>2</sup> Data base at www.weforum. org/gcr/rankings [68].



Combination weights will be obtained using Equation (20) and the strategy coefficient µ = 0.5.

From the Sustainability and Innovation (*D*5) and Business dynamism (*D*3) dimensions, Sustainable planning (*C*15), Innovation foundation (*C*16) and Entrepreneurial culture (*C*9) are the causal criteria, whereas Administrative requirements (*C*8) is the affected criteria. Given that factors have an interactive relationship, managers should first focus attention on the causal dimensions such as Sustainability and Innovation and Business dynamism. Improving these causal factors will eventually remedy problems with the affected factors. Similarly, at the criterion level, manager should focus on Planning (*C*15), Innovation foundation (*C*16) and Entrepreneurial culture (*C*9) for improvement.

improvement.

criteria, whereas Administrative requirements (*C*8) is the affected criteria. Given that factors have an interactive relationship, managers should first focus attention on the causal dimensions such as Sustainability and Innovation and Business dynamism. Improving these causal factors will eventually remedy problems with the affected factors. Similarly, at the criterion level, manager

**Figure 2.** Overall INRM (Influential Network Relation Map). **Figure 2.** Overall INRM (Influential Network Relation Map).

The proposed DANP model integrates the objective weights to avoid reliance upon the subjective preferences of decision-makers. The entropy method is used to calculate the objective weights. The calculation is based on the performance of alternatives. The objective weights of the criteria can be calculated based on the deviation of performance among alternatives using Equation (15–19). The combined weights are then found using Equation (20) as indicated in Table 4. It is worth noting that the ratio between the subjective and objective weights can be adjusted according to the needs of the company. After discussion with the working group of the case company, this study proposes setting the strategy coefficient *μ* to 0.5, indicating equal importance between the subjective and objective weights. The proposed DANP model integrates the objective weights to avoid reliance upon the subjective preferences of decision-makers. The entropy method is used to calculate the objective weights. The calculation is based on the performance of alternatives. The objective weights of the criteria can be calculated based on the deviation of performance among alternatives using Equations (15)–(19). The combined weights are then found using Equation (20) as indicated in Table 4. It is worth noting that the ratio between the subjective and objective weights can be adjusted according to the needs of the company. After discussion with the working group of the case company, this study proposes setting the strategy coefficient µ to 0.5, indicating equal importance between the subjective and objective weights.

To visualize the results, the dimension and criterion weights are shown in Figure 3. The order of the dimensions found is Infrastructure (*D*4) (0.344), Government and Governance (*D*2) (0.253), Economy and Market (*D*1) (0.142), Business dynamism (*D*3) (0.140), Sustainability and Innovation (*D*5) (0.121). In other words, if the company wants to effectively grasp the geographical advantages, it must give priority to the local Infrastructure followed by Government and Governance (*D*2), Economy and Market (*D*1), Business dynamism (*D*3), Sustainability and Innovation (*D*5). At the criterion level, the top three criteria are ICT adoption (*C*12) (0.149), Entrepreneurial culture (*C*9) (0.078) and Property (*C*6) (0.077). This result is consistent with the results of expert interviews. The ICT adoption and Entrepreneurial culture are essential factors for selection the manufacturing location because these are necessary infrastructures for sustainable development. To visualize the results, the dimension and criterion weights are shown in Figure 3. The order of the dimensions found is Infrastructure (*D*4) (0.344), Government and Governance (*D*2) (0.253), Economy and Market (*D*1) (0.142), Business dynamism (*D*3) (0.140), Sustainability and Innovation (*D*5) (0.121). In other words, if the company wants to effectively grasp the geographical advantages, it must give priority to the local Infrastructure followed by Government and Governance (*D*2), Economy and Market (*D*1), Business dynamism (*D*3), Sustainability and Innovation (*D*5). At the criterion level, the top three criteria are ICT adoption (*C*12) (0.149), Entrepreneurial culture (*C*9) (0.078) and Property (*C*6) (0.077). This result is consistent with the results of expert interviews. The ICT adoption and Entrepreneurial culture are essential factors for selection the manufacturing location because these are necessary infrastructures for sustainable development.

Table 5 lists the gaps for each alternative as determined by Equations (21)–(23). The results show that TWN's has a total gap 0.217, followed by HRV at 0.391, VNM at 0.398, IND at 0.421 and UGA at 0.519. In other words, the optimal location is Taiwan, followed by Croatia, Viet Nam, India and finally Uganda. It is worth noting that TWN performs best in the Economy and Market (*D*1) dimension at 0.006, followed by Infrastructure (*D*4) at 0.012, Government and Governance (*D*2) at 0.015, Business dynamism (*D*3) at 0.020 and Sustainability and Innovation (*D*5) at 0.021. Taiwan has better macroeconomic stability and financial system and relatively good transportation system, utility infrastructure system and labor market. Although Taiwan is the best choice, more attention should be paid to the performance of Entrepreneurial culture, ICT adoption and Innovation foundation, which have larger aspiration gaps. The foundation of Taiwan's economics is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises. The decentralization of power by individual businesses and family-owned businesses is often insufficient. In recent years, the international community has been continuously

committed to the promotion of 5G communication technology but Taiwan's population and market size restrictions will not be conducive to the development of ICT adoption. Therefore, Taiwan still has limited disruptive ideas, so Innovation foundation still has much room for improvement. *Symmetry* **2020**, *12*, x FOR PEER REVIEW 15 of 23

**Figure 3.** Local Weights for Dimensions and Global Weights for Criteria. **Figure 3.** Local Weights for Dimensions and Global Weights for Criteria.


**Table 5.** Gap analysis for the possible alternatives.

 *C*14 Labor market 0.049 0.019 0.032 0.093 *D*5 Sustainability and Innovation 0.179 0.090 0.121  *C*15 Sustainable planning 0.089 0.023 0.053 0.440  *C*16 Innovation foundation 0.090 0.067 0.068 0.560 Combination weights will be obtained using Equation (20) and the strategy coefficient μ = 0.5. Croatia is another feasible choice if improvements can be made to the local Entrepreneurial culture and ICT adoption. For Viet Nam, the local Entrepreneurial culture and ICT adoption are the two critical items which need to be improved. India has good performance in the Economy and Market dimension but needs to pay attention to local ICT adoption and Entrepreneurial culture. Uganda should improve its innovation foundation.

 *C*13 Skill 0.036 0.064 0.053 0.154

#### Table 5 lists the gaps for each alternative as determined by Equation (21–23). The results show **5. Discussion**

that TWN's has a total gap 0.217, followed by HRV at 0.391, VNM at 0.398, IND at 0.421 and UGA at 0.519. In other words, the optimal location is Taiwan, followed by Croatia, Viet Nam, India and finally Uganda. It is worth noting that TWN performs best in the Economy and Market (*D*1) dimension at 0.006, followed by Infrastructure (*D*4) at 0.012, Government and Governance (*D*2) at 0.015, Business The proposed DANP mV model adds a combination weight assessment to the traditional model foundation. The combination weights (CWs) are set according to different strategic requirements and will eventually produce different assessment results. The influential weights (IWs), objective weights

be paid to the performance of Entrepreneurial culture, ICT adoption and Innovation foundation, which have larger aspiration gaps. The foundation of Taiwan's economics is dominated by small and (OWs) and combination weights (CWs) for each dimension are shown on the left side of Table 6, while the results of the evaluation based on the different weights are shown on the right-hand side. The order of the influential weights, from highest to lowest, is Government and Governance (*D*2), Infrastructure (*D*4), Business dynamism (*D*3), Economy and Market (*D*1) and finally Sustainability and Innovation (*D*5). The order of the objective weights (OWs) from highest to lowest is Infrastructure (*D*4), Government and Governance (*D*2), Economy and Market (*D*1), Sustainability and Innovation (*D*5) and Business dynamism (*D*3). The order of the combination weights (CWs) from highest to lowest is Infrastructure (*D*4), Government and Governance (*D*2), Economy and Market (*D*1), Business dynamism (*D*3) and Sustainability and Innovation (*D*5).


**Table 6.** Comparison of weights and ranking.

As indicated in Table 6, the final selection order is TWN, HRV, VNM, IND, UGA based on the combined weights. However, if only the DANP weight is considered, the final selection order will become TWN, IND, HRV, VNM and UGA. The results reveal that adding the objective weights to the model has a significant effect on the results. This is consistent with the study of Chang and Lin [19]. If the final evaluation decision is only dependent on subjective weights, the results will be easily influenced by the subjective preferences of senior managers.

Figure 4 shows the weight distribution among the dimensions and criteria and the gaps from the aspiration level for each alternative. From the DANP weight distribution, we can see that the most important dimension is Government and Governance (*D*2) and Infrastructure (*D*4), which is consistent with the opinions of the experts as given during the interview process. The greatest incentives for the case company to invest in China would be the various policy subsidies in the Hercynian Special Economic Zone and the large amount of cheap labor and the stable water and electricity supply. However, the greatest risk would be the uncertainty of the government's authoritarian regime and regulations.

It is worth noting that Infrastructure (*D*4) dominates the importance of the dimensions, regardless of whether for DANP or entropy analysis, where ICT adoption is the most important criterion in the Infrastructure dimension. The development of ICT infrastructure is essential for the governments of various countries who have been actively promoting Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing in recent years. This results also show that the levels of ICT adoption have a critical effect on firms considering relocation of their production lines. Although the results indicate that TWN should be given the first priority, various gaps to the aspiration level remain in each dimension or criterion.

This study compares the original and modified VIKOR and the results are shown in Figure 5. The left side of the panel is the total gap of five countries. Orange is the modified calculation result and black is the original calculation result. It can be found that if using the original VIKOR, Taiwan's total Gap is only 0.008, which means almost perfect performance. From the right side of the panel, the results of original VIKOR have zero gap in each criterion except in *C*<sup>5</sup> Institutions with 0.008. This result might not reflect the real situation. Our proposed model can fix this problem. There are different gaps in each criterion to reach the aspiration level.

The case company should formulate and choose the supply chain layout in a more systematic way, to move towards the goal of sustainable operations. Based on the analysis, the assessed sites can be divided into a primary group (TWN, HRV) and a secondary group (VNM, IND, UGA). Although the countries in the primary group have the higher priority, there is still much room for improvement

in their entrepreneurial culture, foundations of innovation and ICT adoption (Table 5). Based on the INRM (Figure 2), one can see that ICT adoption belongs in the Infrastructure dimension, which will be influenced by the Government and Governance, Business dynamism, Sustainability and Innovation dimensions. In addition, entrepreneurial culture belongs to the dimension of Business Dynamism, which is also influenced by the Sustainability and Innovation dimensions. Therefore, the Sustainability and Innovation dimensions are causal, being the driving force in the whole system. It is worth noting that the Sustainability and Innovation dimensions include innovation foundation and sustainable planning. Also, from the INRM, it can be seen that innovation foundation is causal and is the key item that the case company needs to develop and prepare for in advance. It is suggested that the case company set up an in-house innovation department and keep an eye on international economic trends and industry dynamics, to get first-hand information, to enable it to respond to rapid market changes. In summary, this study not only provides the optimal location for relocation of the production line but also offers suggested directions for improvement directions for the case company. **DANP Entropy Combination** *rkj* **RANK** *rkj* **RANK** *rkj* **RANK**  *D*1 0.188 4 0.097 3 0.142 3 TWN 0.227 1 0.208 1 0.217 1 *D*2 0.226 1 0.28 2 0.253 2 HRV 0.393 3 0.39 2 0.391 2 *D*3 0.213 3 0.066 5 0.140 4 VNM 0.399 4 0.396 3 0.398 3 *D*4 0.220 2 0.467 1 0.344 1 IND 0.378 2 0.464 4 0.421 4 *D*5 0.153 5 0.09 4 0.121 5 UGA 0.477 5 0.561 5 0.519 5 Figure 4 shows the weight distribution among the dimensions and criteria and the gaps from the aspiration level for each alternative. From the DANP weight distribution, we can see that the most important dimension is Government and Governance (*D*2) and Infrastructure (*D*4), which is consistent with the opinions of the experts as given during the interview process. The greatest incentives for the case company to invest in China would be the various policy subsidies in the Hercynian Special Economic Zone and the large amount of cheap labor and the stable water and electricity supply. However, the greatest risk would be the uncertainty of the government's authoritarian regime and regulations. *Symmetry* **2020**, *12*, x FOR PEER REVIEW 18 of 23

*Symmetry* **2020**, *12*, x FOR PEER REVIEW 17 of 23

If the final evaluation decision is only dependent on subjective weights, the results will be easily

**Table 6.** Comparison of weights and ranking.

**Dimensions Weight Alternative IWs OWs CWs** 

influenced by the subjective preferences of senior managers.

**Figure 4.** Overall ranking and performance of each alternative. **Figure 4.** Overall ranking and performance of each alternative. production line but also offers suggested directions for improvement directions for the case company.

and black is the original calculation result. It can be found that if using the original VIKOR, Taiwan's total Gap is only 0.008, which means almost perfect performance. From the right side of the panel, **Figure 5.** VIKOR (VIšekriterijumsko Kompromisno Rangiranje) method Comparative that from to original and modification. **Figure 5.** VIKOR (VIšekriterijumsko Kompromisno Rangiranje) method Comparative that from to original and modification.

#### the results of original VIKOR have zero gap in each criterion except in *C*5 Institutions with 0.008. This result might not reflect the real situation. Our proposed model can fix this problem. There are **6. Conclusions 6. Conclusions**

sustainable development.

different gaps in each criterion to reach the aspiration level. The case company should formulate and choose the supply chain layout in a more systematic way, to move towards the goal of sustainable operations. Based on the analysis, the assessed sites can be divided into a primary group (TWN, HRV) and a secondary group (VNM, IND, UGA). Although the countries in the primary group have the higher priority, there is still much room for improvement This paper explores a method based on the DANP-mV model for the location selection of production lines which have to be moved due to economic fluctuations and trade wars, which is for sustainable development. We propose a hybrid model that considers both subjective and objective weights thereby avoiding the shortcomings of the original DANP model. The model can help companies determine the optimal location for relocation and provide directions for improvement based on the INRM and gap analysis. We conducted an empirical study to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed model. The following findings are derived: This paper explores a method based on the DANP-mV model for the location selection of production lines which have to be moved due to economic fluctuations and trade wars, which is for sustainable development. We propose a hybrid model that considers both subjective and objective weights thereby avoiding the shortcomings of the original DANP model. The model can help companies determine the optimal location for relocation and provide directions for improvement based on the INRM and gap analysis. We conducted an empirical study to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed model. The following findings are derived:

1. The proposed DANP-mV model has been verified by real cases, which can fix the shortcomings of original VIKOR method. 1. The proposed DANP-mV model has been verified by real cases, which can fix the shortcomings of original VIKOR method.

4. Setting up an in-house innovation department could be an effective way in cope with

Although this study makes some contributions to the location selection problem, there are some suggestions for future study. First, the survey method is a time-consuming process. How to reduce the number of questions and still obtain reliable results could be the subject of further study. Second, different subjective and objective assessment methods can be compared with those used in the current study. Third, the current study used an average to represent the various experts' opinions. Other techniques such as rough number or fuzzy theory could be considered to integrate the different opinions. Fourth, an electronics manufacturing company was used for the case study. The model can be applied in different industries for comparison. Finally, this study finds that sustainable development and innovation is an important factor driving the sustainable development of

deficiencies of the innovation foundation in the potential countries.


Although this study makes some contributions to the location selection problem, there are some suggestions for future study. First, the survey method is a time-consuming process. How to reduce the number of questions and still obtain reliable results could be the subject of further study. Second, different subjective and objective assessment methods can be compared with those used in the current study. Third, the current study used an average to represent the various experts' opinions. Other techniques such as rough number or fuzzy theory could be considered to integrate the different opinions. Fourth, an electronics manufacturing company was used for the case study. The model can be applied in different industries for comparison. Finally, this study finds that sustainable development and innovation is an important factor driving the sustainable development of enterprises. It is suggested that follow-up research can be directed towards discussing how to effectively improve national policies based on the viewpoint of sustainable development and innovation.

**Author Contributions:** S.-W.H. literature review, article writing, analyzed the data and formatting. W.T. collected the data and article writing. J.J.H.L. writing—Review and editing. Finally, G.-H.T. writing—Review. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, grant number MOST 107-2410-H-305 -038 -MY3, MOST 108-2221-E-305 -002 -MY3 and MOST 109-2410-H-305-056.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors are extremely grateful for the symmetry editorial team's valuable comments on improving the quality of this article.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
