Emphasizing Grey Systems Contribution to Decision-Making Field Under Uncertainty: A Global Bibliometric Exploration

Abstract

Grey systems are applied in numerous domains, proving a high efficiency in predicting and investigating complex systems, where data is insufficient, unknown, or partially known. The systems have a strong contribution in the decision-making field under uncertainty, by identifying the connection between variables and optimizing the process of choosing the strategies. With time, the methods offered by the grey systems theory have faced a continuous adoption process in various research fields associated with decision-making. In this context, this paper aims to provide an in-depth bibliometric exploration, focusing on a filtered dataset, gathered from Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science Core Collection database (WoS) for the purpose of better highlighting the adoption process faced by grey systems theory in the decision-making field under uncertainty. Based on the extracted dataset, the value registered for the annual growth rate is 17.1%, proving that the scientific community’s focus in this field is significant, and it has maintained academics’ interest for a long time. Also, the results of the bibliometric analysis showed that the Journal of Grey System was the most relevant source, while Sifeng Liu provided the greatest contribution to the field based on the number of published papers. Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics is ranked first in the top of most relevant affiliation based on the number of published papers, while China—the homeland of grey systems theory—assumes the leading contributor country place. The review of the top 10 most cited papers revealed the advantages of using grey systems theory in decision-making field under uncertainty.

Keywords

• grey systems
• decision-making field
• uncertainty
• Biblioshiny
• bibliometric analysis