Promoting consensus in the concept mapping methodology: an application in the hospitality sector

The concept mapping methodology aims to respond to the non trivial task of conceptualising abstract thoughts by means of a focus group composed by experts from the studied domain. The approach defines a set of general steps that allow experts to lead the generation of ideas, group the ideas in a con...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Authors: Fornells Herrera, Albert, Rodrigo, Zaida, Rovira Llobera, Xari, Santomà Vicens, Ricard, Teixidó Navarro, Francesc, Golobardes, Elisabet
Format: article
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2019
Country:España
Institution:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repository:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:20.500.14342/3455
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14342/3455
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patrec.2015.05.013
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Mapes conceptuals
Investigació operativa
Concept mapping
Operations research
51
Description
Summary:The concept mapping methodology aims to respond to the non trivial task of conceptualising abstract thoughts by means of a focus group composed by experts from the studied domain. The approach defines a set of general steps that allow experts to lead the generation of ideas, group the ideas in a conceptual map of interrelated concepts using clustering multidimensional scaling and clustering techniques, analysing the quality of the conceptual maps and deciding on a final interpretation. In this sense, this final decision is not trivial because clustering techniques provide a set of potentially conceptual maps so experts must select the one that fits best according to their opinion. For this reason, we present the global index of consensus as an indicator for filtering the most suitable clustering solutions using qualitative reasoning. It promotes the consensus of experts opinions and ensures objectivity in the final interpretation. The index outperforms three of the most well-known clustering validation indexes in a case study focused on the meaning of excellence in the hospitality industry. This work presents the global index of consensus as an indicator for filtering the most suitable clustering solutions using qualitative reasoning that promotes the consensus of experts’ opinions, which is one of the key aspects in the concept mapping methodology. The index outperforms three of the most well-known clustering validation indexes in a case study focused on the meaning of excellence in hospitality.