- Director: Dr Núria Agell & Dr Marc Torrens, Esade - Universitat Ramon Llull
- Date of defense: July 28th, 2025
Abstract:
The increasing complexity of digital transformation in traditional industries calls for new and structured approaches to manage decision-making under uncertainty, especially in domains like automotive manufacturing where digitalization intersects with rigid legacy processes. This doctoral research investigates the strategic prioritization and evaluation of digital initiatives within SEAT S.A., an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), aiming at supporting its transition toward a more agile, value-driven digital portfolio management model. To enable effective prioritization, the thesis first develops a methodology that combines Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) with techniques such as TOPSIS and an IOWA-based aggregator to assess and visualize the alignment between the strategic importance and economic performance of digital initiatives. This produces a performance index and actionable rankings that highlight underperforming projects and therefore improves resource allocation. The research then establishes a consensual and standardized set of evaluation criteria for digital projects. Using the Delphi method and Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Term Sets (HFLTS), the study captures the perspectives of different stakeholders, encompassing business, product, and portfolio roles. This qualitative process yields a structured set of evaluation criteria —such as direct income, cost savings, strategic alignment, and customer satisfaction— ranked by both perceived importance and consensus level. These criteria become the foundation for a scalable and repeatable MCDA-based project evaluation framework, promoting transparency, consistency, and shared understanding across the organization. The final component of the thesis introduces a decision-aiding classification tool, leveraging the Weighted Ordered Weighted Averaging (WOWA) operator to assign digital initiatives to predefined ordinal classes. This approach accounts for both the relative importance of criteria and the behavioral patterns of decision-makers, enabling a transparent and reproducible evaluation process that supports mid- and long-term strategic planning. The proposed framework not only improves the coherence and traceability of digital project evaluations but also fosters consensus among decision-makers and ensures that high-impact, strategically relevant projects receive the proper attention. Collectively, the thesis makes multiple contributions to both academia and industry. It demonstrates how MCDA, fuzzy logic, and behavioral decision theory can be harmonized to enhance digital portfolio management in complex corporate settings. Ultimately, this work contributes a comprehensive, stakeholder-inclusive framework for digital portfolio management that bridges the gap between strategic intent and operational execution—supporting more agile, transparent, and value-driven decision-making in traditional industries.