{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:10:39Z","timestamp":1760058639397,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,16]],"date-time":"2025-04-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1744761600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Symmetry"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study introduces a novel two-stage model for assessing and enhancing business excellence based on the EFQM framework. The Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) is used in the first stage to calculate the weight vectors of criteria and sub-criteria, incorporating uncertainty through triangular fuzzy numbers (TFNs). In the second stage, the OR-Tools CP-SAT solver is used to solve the selection and improvement of sub-criteria as a multidimensional knapsack problem with mixed min\/max constraints. In this way, a new and enhanced model for evaluating business excellence is presented\u2014one that takes into account the company\u2019s current capabilities and circumstances while also providing management with a starting point for enhancing business performance. The model is validated using data from a manufacturing company in central Serbia. The findings suggest that improvement efforts should not be symmetrically distributed across all EFQM criteria and sub-criteria. Instead, an asymmetric approach provides efficient resource allocation while maximizing business excellence improvements. This study emphasizes the balance or symmetry between subjective decision-makers\u2019 assessments and mathematically based optimization, demonstrating the practical applicability of the proposed method in strategic decision-making under resource constraints.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/sym17040607","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,16]],"date-time":"2025-04-16T11:02:57Z","timestamp":1744801377000},"page":"607","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Developing a New Approach for Assessing and Improving Business Excellence: Integrating Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchical Process and Constraint Programming Model"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5563-8982","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tijana","family":"Petrovi\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac, Sestre Janji\u0107 6, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia"}]},{"given":"Danijela","family":"Tadi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac, Sestre Janji\u0107 6, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3583-9434","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dragan","family":"Marinkovi\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Transport Systems, TU Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany"},{"name":"Mechanical Science Institute, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University-VILNIUS TECH, Plytin\u0117s St. 25, LT-10105 Vilnius, Lithuania"}]},{"given":"Goran","family":"\u0110uri\u0107","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Belgrade, Kraljice Marije 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6964-5673","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nikola","family":"Komatina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac, Sestre Janji\u0107 6, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"European Foundation for Quality Management (2020). 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