Dynamic evaluation of a post-pandemic agricultural traceability system, based on the HFLTS-DEMATEL method

Abstract

Purpose

Due to consumption changes in the post-pandemic era, the production safety of agricultural products is affecting global consumers. This paper constructs an evaluation index of the agricultural Internet of things (IOT) traceability system and evaluates it using the dynamic hesitant-fuzzy linguistic term sets (HFLTS)-based DEMATEL method to improve agricultural supply-chain links and improve production quality.

Design/methodology/approach

The agricultural IOT traceability index system is constructed using the literature and expert interviews; it comprises 6 first-level indices and 20 second-level indices. The agricultural IOT traceability system is evaluated using the dynamic HFLTS-DEMATEL method.

Findings

Producers' awareness of agricultural-production safety (A11) has the most significant impact on production and processing links, while warehouse location and storage capacity (A31) have the largest impact on the circulation link. Inspection authenticity and transparency and quarantine information (A41) have the largest impact on the detection-consumption link. The extent to which the traceability-platform construction is complete (A62) has the largest impact on technical support.

Research limitations/implications

The present paper may be limited to the era of post-pandemic, and it is hard to consider all the indices. Further research can broaden the research context and establish a more comprehensive index system.

Practical implications

The index system constructed in this study will surely help relevant regulatory authorities in China to promote the construction of agricultural IOT traceability system and establish a unified standard, so as to provide a basis for future developers to enter the field. Accordingly, it also can help every subject to identify the key indices of each process in the agricultural-product supply chain and guide relevant departments to conduct targeted information tracking and management. The consumers could also understand the standards of traceable agricultural products and effectively protect their own rights and interests.

Originality/value

The existing literature does not provide an objective, unified standard for measuring a decentralized traceability system or identifying key processes. This study therefore proposes a new evaluation index system and uses a dynamic evaluation method to determine the importance of key indices. This study identifies the most important indices in each process, making it possible to discover, improve, and enhance the quality of agricultural products at a practical level.

Citation

Hui, X. and Kexin, Z. (2023), "Dynamic evaluation of a post-pandemic agricultural traceability system, based on the HFLTS-DEMATEL method", International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, Vol. 40 No. 8, pp. 1963-1982. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQRM-03-2022-0104