A Decision Methodology for Six-Sigma Implementation in the Nigerian Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (SME)

Abstract

Businesses are in a constant quest for solutions to their organizational needs, and many enterprises have adopted Six Sigma (SS) as the most suited approach for adequately matching cost, quality, and delivery. However, researchers in the last two decades have thus been trying to overcome difficulties and constraints associated with SS implementation. In Nigeria, SS is unpopular, and there is a shortage of studies on the implementation of SS in SMEs. The present research was motivated by the lack of research on SS critical success factor (CSF) appraisal in Nigeria, and none in the literature has discreetly described the criticality of the SS implementation factors in Small-Medium Enterprise (SMEs). Therefore, this study proposed to develop a suitable hierarchical model and illustrate the interrelationships between factors that facilitate SS implementation in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) using an integrated approach that consists of interval-valued neutrosophic analytical hierarchy process (IVN-AHP) and criteria importance through inter-criteria correlation (CRITIC). The investigated success factors were conceptualized into four aspects and verified with the aid of the inputs of experts within the small and medium enterprises in Nigeria. Primarily, the content of the work is structured and streamlined perfectly to awaken curiosity among researchers who intend to explore the SS implementation success factors further