Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.

v1

Article

Fuzzy Logic: An Application into Marketing Strategy

Albérico Travassos Rosário 1,* and Joana Carmo Dias 2

1 GOVCOPP, Universidade Europeia; alberico@ua.pt

2 COMEGI/IADE, Universidade Europeia; joana.carmo.dias@universidadeeuropeia.pt
* Correspondence: alberico@ua.pt

Abstract: The term fuzzy refers to things that are unclear or vague. In the real world, we often en-
counter a situation where we cannot determine whether the state is true or false, and fuzzy logic
allows for more flexible reasoning. This is a form of multivalued logic where the truth values of
variables can be any real number between 0 and 1, as opposed to Boolean logic where the logical
values can only be 0 or 1. Fuzzy logic is therefore a problem-solving technique used to evaluate all
available information and thus make the best decisions. When applied to marketing, fuzzy logic
allows treating customers in an individual and personalized way, instead of being fully identified
within a particular market segment. Fuzzy marketing considers the degree to which a customer
belongs to certain segments and subsequently allows them to be targeted with messages that engage
them emotionally. To better understand the application and importance of fuzzy logic in marketing
strategy, we developed a systematic review of the bibliometric literature (LRSB). It was possible to
create a connection between these concepts, marketing and fuzzy logic, to increase the efforts of
marketing professionals to achieve competitiveness in the unpredictable business environment.

Keywords: fuzzy; marketing; fuzzy marketing; marketing strategy; consumer behaviour

1. Introduction
The current business environment is characterized by high competition due to in-
creased diversification and globalization. As a result, companies have acknowledged the
significance of developing and implementing consumer-centered marketing strategies to
enhance customer retention and maximize lifelong profits. Consequently, the fuzzy logic
has been integrated into marketing models to create solutions for customer-specific mar-
keting and business issues. Hernández and Hidalgo [1] explain that fuzzy logic is based
on observing human behaviors. For instance, fuzzy logic mimics how people analyze
problems and make decisions using ambiguous or imprecise values instead of relying on
absolute facts or falsehoods. Scott [2] describes fuzzy logic as a computing approach that
stems from the mathematical study of multivalued logic that processes possible truth val-
ues through the same variable. Unlike classical logic, which requires statements to be ab-
solutely true or absolutely false [3], fuzzy logic involves the use of true values ranging
from 0 to 1, indicating that the algorithm can provide solutions based on data ranges ra-
ther than on one discrete data point [4]. In this case, fuzzy logic can be used in data inter-
pretation for informative with relative or subjective definitions. In real-life situations,
statements of absolute falsehood or truth are rare, given that people perceive and interpret
information differently [5]. For example, different customers can have varying interpreta-
tions of marketing information leading to other decisions and intentions. Thus, employing
fuzzy logic in marketing allows marketers to make decisions based on multiple data
ranges from different customers and partners.
Applying fuzzy logic principles to marketing decisions has led to the establishment
of the "fuzzy marketing" concept. It is used to reflect how people think and behave by
estimating the outcomes of their previous knowledge and experiences [6]. In this case, the
fuzzy logic in marketing finds that the truth coefficients lie somewhere on the scale of 0-
1. This suggests that consumer behaviors and consumption of marketing content cannot

© 2022 by the author(s). Distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY license.

Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

be understood as simply black and white (i.e., true/false binary absolutes) but rather from
'shades of grey' perspectives [4]. Customers are not predictable or predefined, they are
fuzzy by definition. For example, just because a customer bought a specific product this
week does not mean they will buy the same product again next week [7]. Therefore, in-
stead of treating them collectively within a particular segment through signal data, fuzzy
logic encourages treating customers as individuals and real people [2]. Consequently, this
approach enables the creation of promotional messages that emotionally engage them and
increase potential positive behaviors and outcomes [8]. A systematic bibliometric litera-
ture review (LRSB) of 96 sources was conducted to illustrate further the connection be-
tween these concepts, marketing, and fuzzy logic, to enhance marketers' efforts to achieve
competitiveness in the unpredictable business environment.

2. Materials and Methods

A systematic bibliometric literature review (LRSB) was conducted to analyze and
synthesize data on fuzzy logic and marketing strategies. The primary aim of this research
was to illustrate how integrating fuzzy logic increases the effectiveness of a marketing
strategy and its associated outcomes. Consequently, the LRSB approach was deemed de-
sirable because it helps researchers the interrelationships and impacts of research pub-
lished within the field of interest [9]. It involves analyzing large amounts of academic lit-
erature to provide diverse perspectives and findings that can be integrated to improve
practice and inform policy-making and decision-making. According to Donthu et al. [10],
the bibliometric analysis should be used when the scope of review and dataset are enor-
mous. In this case, fuzzy logic is a broad concept used in multiple fields. Thus, the biblio-
metric analysis is an appropriate method to present the state of scholarly structure and
emerging trends of a specific research topic.
The LRSB involves the screening and selection of information sources to ensure the
validity and accuracy of the data presented, in a process consisting of 3 phases and 6 steps
[11,12,13,14, 15] (Table 1).

Table 1. Process of systematic LRSB.

Fase Step Description

Step 1 formulating the research problem
Step 2 searching for appropriate literature
Exploration
Step 3 critical appraisal of the selected studies
Step 4 data synthesis from individual sources
Interpretation Step 5 reporting findings and recommendations
Communication Step 6 Presentation of the LRSB report

The methodology approach began with a literature search on the SCOPUS indexing
online database of scientific articles, the most important peer-reviewed peer in the aca-
demic world. The use of Scopus alone is due to the fact that it is the main article base for
academic journals/magazines, covering around 19,500 titles from more than 5,000 inter-
national publishers, including coverage of 16,500 peer-reviewed journals in the fields sci-
entific, technical, and medical and social sciences. Thus, providing a very real view of the
researched subjects with scientific and/or academic relevance. However, we assume that
the study has the limitation of considering only the SCOPUS database, excluding the other
academic bases.
The procedure began with the use of the keyword "fuzzy" in the Scopus directory to
identify appropriate sources. The screening was limited to the titles, abstracts, and key-
words, and a total of 370,090 references were generated. However, further search limits
were implemented based on Linnenluecke et al. [16] (2020) argument that only articles in
journals judged as "high-quality" should be synthesized in a literature review,
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

recommending researchers adopt appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria. Xiao and
Watson [17] further explain that literary analysis improves readers' understanding of the
breadth and depth of existing literature. Therefore, to narrow the search to more relevant
literature keyword "marketing" was added, reducing the numbers to 1,973 documents.
A further exact keyword, "marketing strategy," was added, reducing the document
results to 96 scientific and/or academic documents, included documents until February
2022, 47 Conference Papers; 46 are Articles; 2 Reviews; and 1 Book Chapter (Table 2).

Table 2. Screening Methodology.

Database Scopus Screening Publications

Meta-search keyword: fuzzy 370,090
keyword: fuzzy, marketing 1,973
Inclusion Criteria
keyword: fuzzy, marketing, Marketing Strategy
96
Screening Published until May 2022
Source: own elaboration

3. Literature analysis: themes and trends

Peer-reviewed documents on the topic were analyzed until May 2022. The years 2009
and 2012 were the years with the highest number of peer-reviewed documents on the
topic Fuzzy and marketing Strategy, with 12 publications each. Figure 1 analyzes peer-
reviewed publications published through May 2022.
The publications were sorted out as follows: Expert Systems With Applications (5);
Advances In Intelligent Systems And Computing (4); IEEE International Conference On
Fuzzy Systems (4); Communications In Computer And Information Science (3); Journal
Of Intelligent And Fuzzy Systems (3); Advanced Materials Research (2); Huazhong Li-
gong Daxue Xuebao Journal Huazhong Central China University Of Science And Tech-
nology (2); Marketing Intelligence Planning (2); World Scientific Proc Series On Computer
Engineering And Information Science 7 Uncertainty Modeling In Knowledge Engineering
And Decision Making Proceedings Of The 10th International Flins Conf (2) and with 1 the
remaining publications.
We can say that between 2017 and May 2022 there has been an interest in research on
Industry 4.0 and Marketing

14
12
Documents

10
8
6
4
2
0

Year

Figure 1. Documents by year. Source: own elaboration.

In Table 3 we analyze for the Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR), the best quar-
tile, and the H index by publication. The Administrative Sciences with 15,100 (SJR), Q1
and H index 181.
There is a total of 53 publications on Q1,16 publications on Q2, 10 publications on Q3,
and 6 publications on Q4. Publications from best quartile Q1 represent 30% of the 53 pub-
lications titles; best quartile Q2 represents 19%, best quartile Q3 represents 11%, best quar-
tile Q4 represents 2%, data from 20 publications are not available.
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

As evident from Table 3, the significant majority of articles on Industry 4.0 and mar-
keting rank on the Q1 best quartile index.

Table 3. Scimago journal & country rank impact factor.

Title SJR Best Quartile H index

Expert Systems With Applications 2,070 Q1 225
Advances In Intelligent Systems And Computing 0,220 Q4 48
IEEE International Conference On Fuzzy Systems 0,350 -* 61
Communications In Computer And Information Science 0,210 Q4 55
Journal Of Intelligent And Fuzzy Systems 0,390 Q2 64
Advanced Materials Research 0 -* 43
Huazhong Ligong Daxue Xuebao Journal Huazhong Central
0 -* 0
China University Of Science And Technology
Marketing Intelligence Planning -* -* -*
World Scientific Proc Series On Computer Engineering And
Information Science 7 Uncertainty Modeling In Knowledge
-* -* -*
Engineering And Decision Making Proceedings Of The 10th
International Flins Conf
2009 International Conference On Management Science And
-* -* -*
Engineering 16th Annual Conference Proceedings Icmse 2009
2011 International Conference On E Business And E
0 -* 8
Government Icee2011 Proceedings
2012 International Conference On Fuzzy Theory And Its
0 -* 8
Applications Ifuzzy 2012
2015 12th International Conference On Fuzzy Systems And
0 -* 12
Knowledge Discovery Fskd 2015
2019 IEEE Symposium Series On Computational Intelligence
0 -* 19
Ssci 2019
2nd International Conference On Information Science And
0 -* 10
Engineering Icise2010 Proceedings
6th International Conference On Soft Computing And
Intelligent Systems And 13th International Symposium On 0 -* 11
Advanced Intelligence Systems Scis Isis 2012
ACM International Conference Proceeding Series 0,230 -* 128
Annual International Conference Of The American Society For
Engineering Management 2012 Asem 2012 Agile Management
0 -* 4
Embracing Change And Uncertainty In Engineering
Management
Applied Intelligence 1,210 Q2 72
Applied Mathematical Modelling 1,110 Q1 122
Applied Mathematics And Computation 1,040 Q1 154
Applied Soft Computing Journal 1,960 Q1 156
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

Asia Pacific Education Review 0,610 Q2 32

Assembly Automation 0,610 Q2 44
Computational And Mathematical Organization Theory 0,540 Q2 28
Computational Intelligence And Neuroscience 0,860 Q1 61
Computers And Industrial Engineering 1,780 Q1 136
Computers In Human Behavior 2,170 Q1 206
Conference Proceedings IEEE International Conference On
0 -* 62
Systems Man And Cybernetics
Data 2019 Proceedings Of The 8th International Conference On
0 -* 4
Data Science Technology And Applications
Dianwang Jishu Power System Technology -* -* -*
Energy 2,040 Q1 212
Engineering Applications Of Artificial Intelligence 1,730 Q1 114
European Journal Of Operational Research 2,350 Q1 274
Frontiers In Artificial Intelligence And Applications 0,260 Q4 54
Future Generation Computer Systems 2,230 Q1 134
IFIP Advances In Information And Communication
0,250 Q3 56
Technology
Icnc Fskd 2017 13th International Conference On Natural
0 -* 8
Computation Fuzzy Systems And Knowledge Discovery
Ie And EM 2009 Proceedings 2009 IEEE 16th International
Conference On Industrial Engineering And Engineering 0 -* 9
Management
Industrial Management And Data Systems 1,010 Q1 109
Intelligent Systems Concepts Methodologies Tools And
-* -* -*
Applications
International Journal Of Computational Intelligence Systems 0,490 Q2 45
International Journal Of Computer Integrated Manufacturing 1,100 Q1 59
International Journal Of Electronic Commerce Studies 0,290 Q3 12
International Journal Of Electronic Customer Relationship
0,210 Q3 14
Management
International Journal Of Information Technology And Decision
0,550 Q2 46
Making
International Journal Of Innovative Computing Information
0,480 Q2 52
And Control
International Journal Of Services Technology And
0,120 Q4 24
Management
International Journal Of System Assurance Engineering And
0,430 Q2 28
Management
International Journal Of Technology Intelligence And Planning 0,250 Q3 17
International Review On Computers And Software 0 -* 16
Journal Of Discrete Mathematical Sciences And Cryptography 0,450 Q3 18
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

Journal Of Multiple Valued Logic And Soft Computing 0,230 Q4 25

Journal Of Organizational And End User Computing 1,210 Q1 36
Lecture Notes In Business Information Processing 49
Lecture Notes In Computer Science Including Subseries
Lecture Notes In Artificial Intelligence And Lecture Notes In 0,410 Q2 415
Bioinformatics
Lecture Notes In Electrical Engineering 0,150 Q4 36
Management Decision 1,160 Q1 106
Metallurgical And Mining Industry 0 -* 23
Nanjing Li Gong Daxue Xuebao Journal Of Nanjing University
0,220 Q3 14
Of Science And Technology
Neural Computing And Applications 1,070 Q1 94
PCI 2009 13th Panhellenic Conference On Informatics -* -* -*
Picmet 2016 Portland International Conference On
Management Of Engineering And Technology Technology 0 -* 9
Management For Social Innovation Proceedings
Proceedings 2009 Asia Pacific Conference On Information
0 -* 13
Processing Apcip 2009
Proceedings 2013 4th International Conference On Digital
0 -* 43
Manufacturing And Automation Icdma 2013
Proceedings 2017 2nd International Conferences On
Information Technology Information Systems And Electrical 0 -* 8
Engineering Icitisee 2017
Proceedings Academia Industry Working Conference On
Research Challenges 2000 Next Generation Enterprises Virtual
-* -* -*
Organizations And Mobile Pervasive Technologies Aiworc
2000
Proceedings International Conference On Management And
0 -* 11
Service Science Mass 2009
Proceedings Of 2020 IEEE International Conference On
Information Technology Big Data And Artificial Intelligence -* -* -*
Iciba 2020
Proceedings Of SPIE The International Society For Optical
-* -* -*
Engineering
Proceedings Of The 2016 2nd International Conference On
-* -* -*
Contemporary Computing And Informatics Ic3i 2016
Proceedings Of The 3rd International Conference On
-* -* -*
Intelligent Sustainable Systems Iciss 2020
Proceedings Of The Universities Power Engineering
0 -* 32
Conference
Research Journal Of Applied Sciences Engineering And
0 -* 30
Technology
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

Sustainability Switzerland 0,660 Q1 109

Uncertain Supply Chain Management 0,360 Q2 19
Wmsci 2006 The 10th World Multi Conference On Systemics
Cybernetics And Informatics Jointly With The 12th
0 -* 4
International Conference On Information Systems Analysis
And Synthesis Isas 2006 Proc
World Academy Of Science Engineering And Technology 0 -* 31
Note: *data not available. Source: own elaboration

The thematic areas covered by the 96 scientific and/or academic documents were:
Accounting (17); Decision Sciences (14); Energy (5); Environmental Science (2); Materials
Science (2); Medicine (2); Social Sciences (2); and with 1 (Arts and Humanities; Earth and
Planetary Sciences; Neuroscience; Physics and Astronomy; and Psychology).
The most cited article was "DEMATEL revised: resolving DEMATEL infeasibility" by
Hsuan-Shih et al. with 123 citations published in Applied Mathematical Modeling and
Environment with 1,110 (SJR), the best quartile (Q1) and with an H index (122). The article
shows that raising the initial relation matrix to the power of infinity may not converge to
zero and therefore the total influence may not converge.
In Figure 2, we can analyze the evolution of citations of documents until May 2022.
The number of citations shows a positive net growth with R2 of 54% for the year 2021 with
156 citations with a total of 905 citations.

200
150
Citations

100
50
0
≤2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022

Years

Figure 2. Evolution of citations between ≤2012 and until May 2022. Source: own elaboration.

The h-index was used to ascertain the productivity and impact of the published work,
based on the largest number of articles included that had at least the same number of
citations. Of the documents considered for the h-index, 17 have been cited at least 17 times.
In Annex A, Table A1, the citations of all scientific and/or academic documents up to
until May 2022 are analyzed; 30 documents were not cited in this period, making a total
of 905 citations.
In Figure 3, the bibliometric study is presented to investigate and identify indicators
on the dynamics and evolution of scientific information. The study of bibliometric results,
using the scientific software VOSviewe, aims to identify the main search keywords in
studies that integrate industry 4.0 and the marketing research area.
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

Figure 3. Network of all keywords.

The research was based on the articles analyzed on Industry 4.0 and Marketing. The
associated keywords are shown in Figure 4, making clear the network of keywords that
appear together/linked in each scientific article, thus allowing to know the themes studied
by the researchers and identify future research trends. In Figure 5, a profusion of biblio-
graphic couplings with a cited reference analysis unit is presented.
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

Figure 4. Network of Linked Keywords.

Figure 5. Networks bibliographic coupling.

4. Theoretical perspectives
4.1. The Fuzzy Logic
Fuzzy logic is a variable processing procedure that allows for processing multiple
truth variables using the same variable. In this case, the researcher uses an open, imprecise
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

spectrum of data and statistical approaches to make accurate conclusions [18]. It encour-
ages the generalization of the standard logic by illustrating that a concept possesses a cer-
tain degree of truth that can range between 0.0 and 1.0. In standard logic, ideas are often
believed to be either entirely true (truth value 1.0) or completely false (truth value 0.0)
[19]. However, fuzzy logic suggests that some concepts humans use to define problems
or analyze situations are vague and characterized by subjective or relative definitions,
thus cannot be classified as either absolute truth or absolute false [20]. For example, de-
scribing someone as "beautiful" is subjective and thus cannot be categorized as indisput-
able facts or false. Fuzzy logic provides a flexible reasoning mechanism that can handle
partial truths or determine conclusions for real-life situations that are difficult to decide
whether or not they are false or true [21]. Therefore, fuzzy logic can be defined as a prob-
lem-solving technique used to evaluate all available information to make the best deci-
sions.

4.2. The Origin of the Fuzzy Logic

Although Lotfi Zadeh introduced the concept of fuzzy logic in 1995, its history and
development are rooted in earlier theories of logic that examined the structure and prin-
ciples of correct reasoning. For instance, Aristotle and his predecessors developed ideas
of logic and mathematics, including the Law of Excluded Middle, which insinuates that
every proposition can either be true or false [22]. However, the Greek philosopher Plato
disagreed with this notion, arguing that a third domain exists beyond true and false where
the concepts 'tumbled out' [23]. These different perspectives influenced the mathematical
study of logic and later led to the development of fuzzy logic [24]. For instance, in the 19th
century, George Boole used the Aristotelian perspective to develop an algebra and set
theory that mathematically dealt with the two-valued Aristotle logic by mapping true and
false to 1 and 0, respectively. Jan Lukasiewicz developed a three-valued logic (true, pos-
sible, false) in the early 20th century. However, it failed to gain approval from other math-
ematicians and philosophers.
Other philosophers studied principles of uncertainty and vagueness before the the-
ory of fuzzy sets was embraced in mainstream research and practice. For instance, Ber-
trand Russell proposed the paradox of "all sets that do not contain themselves" [25] (p.72).
Similarly, Max Black, a German philosopher, and scientist introduced the theory of "vague
sets" that analyzed the problem of vagueness. Max Black argued that Russell's theory con-
fused vagueness with generality, thus suggesting that vagueness should be represented
with appropriate details such as terms and symbols that describe borderline cases [26].
The German philosopher proposed that a curve or a consistency profile should be used to
analyze the ambiguity of a symbol or word. These curves resemble the membership func-
tions of (type-1)-fuzzy sets in Lofti Zadeh's theory of fuzzy sets [27]. Therefore, fuzzy
logic's concepts and ideologies developed over time from various thinkers in different
fields who recognized the shortcomings of the traditional two-value truth logic.
The concept was officially recognized in 1965 when Professor Lotfi A. Zadeh of the
University of California at Berkeley published "Fuzzy Sets." The professor based the no-
tion of a fuzzy set on the concept of partially belonging or gradually belonging to a set
[28]. Zadeh explained that most objects do not have precise membership criteria in the
real physical world, even though they play a critical role in human thinking. For instance,
these imprecise categories influence various aspects of recognizing patterns [29], as well
as communicating and abstracting information [30]. An example of a real-life situation is
that suppose someone is considered tall if they are 180cm and above and short if they are
140 cm and below. How would we classify someone who is 178 cm? Under the two-valued
logic, the degree of belonging to the tall group is zero even though such a person is closer
to the tall requirements than the short ones. Such a representation may be inaccurate given
that some people may consider 178 cm to be tall rather than short. Thus, an intermediate
degree of truth is necessary in this case to provide appropriate conclusions by accommo-
dating the imprecision of human reasoning [31]. In this case, the concept of fuzziness
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

understands that a proposition can be partially true or false simultaneously and is based
on human thought and communication processes.

4.3. Fuzzy Expert Systems (FES)

An expert system is a computer program that uses knowledge and inference steps to
handle complex problems and provide decision-making capabilities comparable to a hu-
man expert. The smart program uses reasoning and inference rules based on the user que-
ries to extract knowledge from its knowledge base [32]. The first expert system was devel-
oped in 1970 as part of artificial intelligence (AI) to solve complex issues like an expert
[33]. It uses heuristics and facts stored in the knowledge base to facilitate decision-making
and improve performance [34]. It has three primary components, as illustrated in Figure
6, user interface, inference engine, and knowledge base [35]. The user interface is the com-
ponent used by the expert system to interact with the user by taking the user query as an
input and displaying the query's results as output [36]. Thus, it helps the user communi-
cate with the expert system to find a solution. The inference engine is the brain of the
expert system that takes the query and processes it by applying the inference rules or the
rules of the engine to the knowledge base to deduce new information or derive a conclu-
sion [37]. An inference engine based on facts and rules is called a deterministic inference
engine and provides conclusions assumed to be true. On the contrary, a probabilistic in-
ference engine is based on probability and contains uncertainties in the solutions [38]. The
third component of the expert system, the knowledge base, is a type of storage used to
store knowledge from multiple experts in a particular field and solve problems [39]. The
knowledge can either be factual, i.e., based on facts, or heuristic, i.e., based on practice,
assessments, and experiences [40]. The expert system increases efficiency and expertise in
a particular domain by allowing automated access to vast amounts of knowledge from
multiple experts and fast processing to acquire desired, high-quality solutions.

Figure 6. Structure of the Expert System [35].

A fuzzy expert system (FES) is an expert system used to interpret vague or incom-
plete information to overcome data challenges by utilizing fuzzy sets and logic. This type
of expert system is used to solve decision-making problems with no exact algorithm by
utilizing human-like mechanisms of approximate reasoning expressed in fuzzy IF-THEN
rules [41]. Integrating the fuzzy set theory into the FES increases its ability to describe a
particular process or phenomena linguistically and represent it with few flexible rules
[42]. One primary advantage of the FES is that the use of specified steps, mathematical
formulas, and interconnected subsystems makes it possible to explain how results are de-
rived [43]. The subsystems or components making up the FES are: fuzzification, inference
rules, knowledge database, and defuzzification, as shown in Figure 7 [44]. Therefore, FES
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

is well-suited for solving challenges resulting from vagueness, inexactness, and subjectiv-
ity.

Figure 7. Fuzzy Expert System (FES) Architecture [35].

The Rules base contains all the rules and if-then conditions provided by experts to
regulate the decision-making process. Fuzzy inputs and rules must be provided for the
inference generator to produce fuzzy productions [45]. However, recent updates in fuzzy
theory demand a significant decrease in rules and conditions by providing various meth-
ods of designing and tuning fuzzy controllers. The fuzzification process converts inputs
by turning crisp numbers into fuzzy sets [41]. Under this subsystem, sensors measure the
crisp numbers before passing them into the control system for further processing [46]. The
inference engine is the subsystem used to determine the degree of match between the rules
and the fuzzy input [47]. After deciding the % match, the inference engine identifies the
specific rules to be applied to develop the control actions [48]. The final component of the
fuzzy expert system is the defuzzification which performs the crisp yield operations that
involve converting the fuzzy sets to crisp value that indicates the degree of truth.
The FES can be designed for implementation in multiple fields, including marketing,
medicine, and automotive [49]. While the factors and variables tested are different de-
pending on the area, the successful design of a good FES follows the following steps iden-
tified by Ghaderi and Maihami [50]:
i) Identifying the problem and selecting the appropriate type of fuzzy system: Iden-
tifying the issues that need solving helps determine the required fuzzy system based on
the problem requirements. It is recommended to adopt a modular system since it can be
configured in multiple ways to serve various purposes and satisfy multiple needs [51].
Besides, the system's modules can be improved over time to accommodate changes and
new challenges, thus improving performance;
ii) Defining the input and output variables: In this case, it is critical to identify the
input parameters and classify the crisp values based on ambiguity indices into different
fuzzy sets [52]. Some aspects considered include their membership function and linguistic
attributes;
iii) Defining the fuzzy heuristic rules: the if-then rules provide a convenient way of
expressing knowledge by providing interpretations that can process information in a spe-
cific way at the inference level [53]. For instance, some rules express certainty or obliga-
tion, while others describe possibility or feasibility [54]. Various types of fuzzy rules con-
sidered in this step include gradual inference rules, certainty rules, and possibility rules,
depending on intended applications and uses;
iv) Selecting the fuzzy inference method: fuzzy inference refers to the process of for-
mulating the mapping from a specific input to output using fuzzy logic [55]. It thus
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

involves determining the aggregation operators for preconditions and conclusions [56].
This procedure creates the foundation from which decisions are made and patterns iden-
tified;
v) Defuzzification methods: this step involves converting the fuzzy output into a
crisp value. Examples of ways that can be used for this procedure include center-of-max-
imum (CoM), center-of-area (CoA), smallest-of-maximum (SoM), weighted average
(WA), and largest-of maximum (LoM);
vi) Test the fuzzy system prototype to ensure it functions appropriately and make
appropriate adjustments in membership functions, fuzzy rules, and goal function between
input and fuzzy output variables.

4.4. Marketing Strategy

Developing and implementing a marketing strategy is critical in marketing practice.
For any successful business seeking long-term participation in a market, it is essential to
have a clear marketing strategy that organizes marketing activities and resources to en-
hance an organization's capability to achieve competitive advantage [57]. Morgan et al.
[58] (2019) define a marketing strategy as a company's integrated pattern of decisions that
specifically identify the products and services it offers, target markets, marketing activi-
ties, and resources. Keropyan and Gil-Lafuente [56] (2012) further indicate that it involves
exchange, communication, and relationships to achieve specific objectives. Marketing lit-
erature broadly suggests that a company's economic performance within a particular mar-
ketplace is determined by its marketing strategy, which guides critical marketing activi-
ties such as resource deployment [59]. In addition, the marketing strategy identifies the
specific marketing objectives that help streamline organizational business processes, mar-
keting efforts, customer needs, and other stakeholders' expectations to enhance perfor-
mance in the competitive business environment.
The formulation-implementation dichotomy of marketing strategy encourages estab-
lishing long-term decision-making frameworks that look into the future of the company.
From this perspective, formulating the marketing strategy requires managers and their
teams to make precise "what" decisions regarding the goals they aim to achieve. Similarly,
Khatwani and Srivastava [60] (2016) state that it also identifies techniques they intend to
apply to achieve them, including selecting the target market, scheduling, positioning, and
determining the value offerings [61]. This marketing strategy thus involves executing a
set of detailed marketing techniques and accompanying them with necessary resources
and actions to enact the previously made marketing decisions. The success of the market-
ing strategy formulation and implementation processes is determined by the appropriate
use of strategy content and strategy process [62]. The marketing strategy content should
specifically identify various aspects, including specifying the target segments, the compa-
ny's value proposition, selecting the marketing communication media, and planning the
sales-force incentive [63]. In this case, the marketing strategy content indicates the specific
strategic decisions and identifies appropriate tactical marketing program decisions to en-
sure the success of the marketing efforts. Contrary, the marketing strategy process identi-
fies the organizational mechanisms that lead to these decisions [64]. Examples of these
processes include situation assessment, marketing mix planning, performance evaluation
and monitoring, top-down vs. bottom-up strategic planning process, budgeting, and goal-
setting [65]. Therefore, a competitive marketing strategy encompasses decisions, activi-
ties, and procedures required to achieve a company's desired goals over time, including
the means to develop, deliver, and communicate its offerings to target markets.

4.4.1. Classification of Marketing Strategies

Organizations adopt different marketing strategies depending on multiple factors,
including objectives, marketing relationships, products or services offered, target mar-
kets, and resources. Igor Ansoff, in 1957, identified four broad categories of marketing
strategies; marketing penetration strategy, market development strategy, product
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

development strategy, and market diversification strategy [66]. These classifications are
based on the firm's nature of existing and new products and customers.

4.4.2. Market penetration strategy

Market penetration strategy begins with evaluating the size of the market and the
percentage of consumers within it that buy the company's products and services. From
this aspect, marketing creates and implements a strategy that aims to overtake competi-
tors to acquire a larger market share [67]. Therefore, market penetration strategy refers to
a firm's initiatives to make its existing products and services to an already thriving market
to boost sales and organizational performance [68]. According to Hussain et al. [66], the
market penetration strategy improves business performance by either increasing the num-
ber of sales among existing customers or looking for new customers for the existing prod-
ucts or services. Various tactics can be adopted to achieve these goals, including lowering
prices to compete with alternative products, acquiring competitors, and revamping the
digital marketing roadmap to increase brand awareness among target markets [68]. There-
fore, the primary goal of this marketing approach is to generate more income by promot-
ing or repositioning existing products to existing or new customers who fit the target mar-
ket.

4.4.3. Market development strategy

A market development strategy is a marketing approach that companies use to in-
troduce existing products or services to new markets. Once a firm achieves maturity in its
current market, it is essential to explore new markets for an ongoing product to increase
sales and ensure organizational performance and stability [69]. The product remains the
same, but it is promoted to new targeted customers to facilitate corporate growth [70]. For
example, a company can choose to market a product in new geographical regions or de-
velop channels for exporting the products to other markets [71]. A market development
strategy is an essential marketing tool in that it helps companies reach a wider audience
of potential customers, especially in the modern-day globalized business environment
[72]. Other than acquiring new customers, it can be used to improve the quality of prod-
ucts or services, reduce production cost per unit, increase brand awareness, build organi-
zational resilience, generate more leads and sales, and reinforce long-term corporate
growth and financial performance [73]. However, businesses must conduct market re-
search to identify development opportunities, develop a marketing plan, and allocate ap-
propriate resources to ensure the success of the market development strategy.

4.4.4. Product development strategy

The product development strategy refers to an organization's tactics of launching
new products to a market or modifying the existing ones to meet customer demands and
expectations. Hussain et al. [66] explain that this strategy involves developing organized
methods of guiding all processes concerned with introducing a new item to the target
market. Product development strategy can be applied in multiple situations [74]. For in-
stance, companies can develop new products when they notice a decline in the demand
for an existing product in current marketing segments to ensure growth and improve fi-
nancial performance [75]. In addition, companies can develop new products that offer so-
lutions to target customers' specific problems by basing their entire production processes
and activities on a comprehensive analysis of their needs, wants, and demands [76]. De-
mand for specific items or services creates business opportunities that can be exploited to
achieve higher organizational performance. One major strength of product development
strategy is that it uses market research to create a plan for successfully launching products
or services in particular markets. In this case, the planning can help businesses overcome
multiple challenges by adopting appropriate methods and techniques throughout the
product development process [77]. Various tactics can be used under this marketing strat-
egy to maintain competitiveness within the market, including changing product ideas,
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

modifying existing and creating new products, specializing and customizing, finding new
markets, and increasing product value [72]. A solid and clear product development strat-
egy can help an organization turn an idea into a profitable product and enable modifica-
tions to remain competitive in the market.

4.4.5. Market diversification strategy

Companies used market diversification as a strategy to expand their market share or
enhance their market presence by acquiring or launching new products or tapping into
new markets. Some techniques used in this strategy include licensing, acquisitions, and
mergers [73]. The primary goal of this strategy is to increase an organization's profitability
by expanding into markets and industries that it hasn't currently explored [78]. Other
than higher profitability, companies can diversify to reduce the risks of an industry down-
turn, improve brand awareness and image, and a defense against the increased competi-
tion in local markets [73]. There are various forms of diversification strategies adopted
based on the company's goals and business offerings. These include horizontal, concen-
tric, conglomerate, and vertical diversification.
Horizontal diversification is the strategy used when companies decide to expand
their market presence by introducing products and services unrelated to their original
offerings but meeting the needs of existing customers. This marketing strategy has mini-
mal risks in most cases since the company is working within familiar market segments
and customers [79]. Vertical diversification is a strategy used when a company decides to
take some or all functions associated with the production and distribution of its core prod-
ucts [78]. In this case, the company moves up or down the supply chain by combining
various activities previously done by different companies. For example, a retailer can em-
ploy vertical diversification by manufacturing the products they currently sell in-house
instead of outsourcing from other manufacturers [80]. Concentric diversification is a strat-
egy used to enter a new market with a new product that is technologically similar to the
company's current. This approach allows the company to gain multiple advantages by
leveraging its industry experience, manufacturing processes already in place, and tech-
nical know-how [66]. A conglomerate diversification strategy occurs when a company de-
cides to diversify into entirely new markets offering new products unrelated to those it
currently sells to reach new consumer bases. A conglomerate is a single corporate group
that owns multiple business entities in different sectors [81]. Regardless of a company's
choice of a diversification strategy, these approaches, if employed correctly, can help or-
ganizations offer a more comprehensive range of products and services, build a stronger
brand image, and enhance the firm's profitability.

4.5. Application of Fuzzy Logic and Fuzzy Methods in Marketing Strategies

In this era of data-driven marketing, most companies are missing out on human mar-
keting opportunities by losing sight of marketing's nuanced human context. In this con-
text, signal data-driven promotional messages are often misleading and inappropriate
due to the often generalized information regarding market segments [82,83]. Integrating
the fuzzy logic and fuzzy methods solves this problem by allowing marketers to assess to
what degree an individual customer fits into a market segment [84]. Modern customers
want to be treated like real people instead of being wholly identified with a particular
market segment and defined by their signal data [85]. Rather than using binary yes/no
analysis of customers' past behaviors to determine their lifestyles and consumption deci-
sions, fuzzy marketing allows considerations of multiple perspectives and variables that
enable marketers to create marketing messages that emotionally engage customers and
make them feel understood and valued [86]. Fuzzy marketing demonstrates that custom-
ers are not mere datasets and should not just be targeted; instead, they should be recog-
nized and treated like nuanced, unpredictable, imprecise human beings.
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

4.5.1. Fuzzy Marketing Model

The fuzzy marketing model helps refine the marketing campaigns by allowing the
exact classification of objects and optimal allocation of resources. In traditional marketing
management, companies embraced strategies such as RFM (Recency, Frequency, Mone-
tary value) model, ABC, and portfolio analysis to analyze, assess, and segment customers
based on their value to the company [87]. These methods enabled marketers to improve
marketing performance, increase organizational profitability, and build customer rela-
tionships [88,89]. However, reports and decisions based on these methods are often mis-
leading due to misclassifications resulting from assigning values to predefined classes
[90]. The fuzzy marketing model eliminates these problems by enabling marketers to ac-
curately classify objects and allocate resources accordingly [91]. Instead of categorizing
variables in binary terms {0 or 1, yes/no}, fuzzy methods allow marketers to assess various
degrees of contexts ranging from 0 to 1 [92]. This means that variables can be accurately
classified based on how they influence marketing performance, as shown in Figure 8 be-
low.

Figure 8. Fuzzy Marketing Model [87].

One significant advantage of fuzzy classifications is that one element can be assigned
to multiple classes, expanding the degrees of analysis and accurate representation. For
example, Figure 4 shows that customers under the fuzzy ABC analysis can partly be clas-
sified into three classes, four classes under the fuzzy portfolio analysis, and multiple clas-
ses at the same time under the fuzzy scoring methods. Statistical analyses allow marketers
to compute the membership degree to each class and measure [93]. For example, fuzzy
methods can analyze, categorize, assess, and manage multiple marketing indicators [94].
In addition, it can be used to analyze various measures, including customer lifetime value
(CLV) and customer value, which are used to improve organizational marketing initia-
tives.

4.5.2. Fuzzy Marketing-Mix Model

Most companies struggle with the marketing mix problem due to uncertain and
vague elements and dynamic, nonlinear relationships. These issues undermine the com-
panies' capability to make appropriate decisions that lead to positive, measurable market-
ing outcomes [95]. For example, input variables such as sales forecasts are uncertain since
it is difficult to know what will happen to specific products' markets in the future [96]. In
addition, estimating competitor sales, distribution expenditures, and advertising to deter-
mine the level of competition can be difficult and lead to inaccurate assumptions [97]. In
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

this case, most of the data used in developing and employing the classical marketing mix
model are based on estimations and pure reliance on expert judgment, which can be vague
and unreliable [98,99]. Other issues that make up the marketing mix problem are changing
market environmental conditions, availability of financial resources, market performance,
uncertainties with the organization's competitive strength, and estimating market re-
sponse and economic variations [100]. However, the fuzzy marketing mix model solves
these problems by allowing marketers to apply experts' If-Then decision rules.
The fuzzy logic sets allow marketers and marketing researchers to analyze and de-
duct accurate conclusions from vague, uncertain, subjective inputs, facilitating enhanced
decision-making. In addition, the fuzzy methods can explore nonlinear relationships be-
tween problem inputs and outputs, allowing the marketers to understand how a change
in one variable affects the rest of the marketing aspects [101]. Aly and Vrana [7] (2005)
created a fuzzy marketing mix model based on the Fuzzy decision-making system (FDMS)
that can be used to illustrate the integration of fuzzy logic and fuzzy methods in market-
ing, as shown in Figure 5 below. Thus, using fuzzy logic and strategies, which leverage
experts' knowledge, intuition, and experience in marketing in the form of if-then rules,
provides a more convenient analysis technique.

Figure 9. Fuzzy Marketing Mix Model [7].

The input variables considered are the aspects that often affect the marketing deci-
sion-making processes in most organizations as identified through experts' viewpoints
and knowledge of their market environment. These factors affect the fixed output varia-
bles that make up the marketing mix settings: price (P), advertising (A), distribution (D),
and product quality (R) [102]. The fuzzification interface transforms the input data gath-
ered from experts and analysts into fuzzy variables. The rule-base encompasses experts'
decision rules to guide the input variables' transformation into the marketing mix settings
[103]. The inference engine is used to match the consequents of the inferring rules to the
knowledge base to deduce new information that is the deffuzified to obtain the crisp val-
ues of the outputs [104]. This process enables the company to determine the marketing
initiatives that accurately and approximately indicate all the requirements associated with
the factors affecting performance within a specific market environment (Wu et al., 2010)
[105]. Classifying elements into multiple classes throughout the analysis period enables
marketers to avoid strategic failures and economic loss since they have access to more
accurate and representative data [106]. Leveraging such reports enhances marketing de-
cision-making, planning, allocation of resources, and implementation of marketing
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

initiatives and campaigns [107]. Therefore, integrating fuzzy logic and fuzzy methods into
marketing strategies can help improve a company's competitiveness and lead to higher
performance and productivity in the modern-day turbulently changing business environ-
ment.

5. Conclusions
Globalization and diversification have increased the competition in local and inter-
national markets, prompting companies to adopt consumer-centered marketing ap-
proaches. One significant way that they have embraced is using data-driven marketing
strategies to enhance targeting and customization. However, data overload and the re-
duction of customers into mere datasets have undermined these companies' capability to
optimize human marketing approaches achievable through the appropriate use of data
and information technologies. For instance, in a standard marketing strategy, customers
within a particular market segment are targeted collectively regardless of their differ-
ences. This approach leads to companies missing opportunities to emotionally engage
their customers for long-term, mutually beneficial relationships that increase their com-
petitive advantage. Integrating fuzzy logic and fuzzy methods into marketing strategies
solves this problem by encouraging marketers to understand their customers as unpre-
dictable, imprecise individuals. Unlike the classical logic that clarifies contents as either
absolutely truth or absolutely false, fuzzy logic recognizes that most information used in
real life is subjective or relative. It does not have a definite definition or truth value. Thus,
under fuzzy logic, truth values can be anything between 0 and 1. In this case, the fuzzy
reasoning recognizes that yes/no answers do not necessarily reflect on the customer's be-
haviors or intentions, encouraging consideration of the 'maybe's' and 'if's' that occur when
customers do not have absolute answers. Fuzzy marketing involves analyzing how a cus-
tomer fits into a specific market segment. In this case, instead of sending mass customized
promotional messages, the companies prioritize personalized marketing efforts that make
the customer feel understood and appreciated.
Marketing strategies are concerned with organizational plans and activities related
to promoting and selling products or services to consumers. Therefore, adopting ap-
proaches such as the fuzzy marketing model or the fuzzy marketing mix model enhances
the company's capability to build stronger customer relationships, enhance profitability,
and improve marketing performance. For instance, with a fuzzy marketing model, mar-
keters and researchers can accurately classify objects and allocate resources using fuzzy
methods that indicate the degree to which a particular factor or indicator contributes to
the marketing effort. Suppose a competitor's advertising expenditure is deemed to have
minimal impact on a company's marketing performance. In classical logic, it will be as-
signed an absolute 0 value. In contrast, in fuzzy logic, a specific value, for example, 0.3,
will be given to indicate that even though the impact is low, it does affect the company's
performance. In this case, the management using fuzzy logic, will assign appropriate re-
sources to increase the company's competitive strength. Therefore, fuzzy logic and fuzzy
methods provide a more explicit representation of reality, enabling companies to make
informed, accurate decisions.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, A.R. and J.D.; methodology, A.R. and J.D.; software, A.R.
and J.D.; validation, A.R. and J.D.; formal analysis, A.R. and J.D.; investigation, A.R. and J.D.; re-
sources, A.R. and J.D.; data curation, A.R. and J.D.; writing—original draft preparation, A.R. and
J.D.; writing—review and editing, A.R. and J.D.; visualization, A.R. and J.D.; supervision, A.R. and
J.D.; project administration, A.R. and J.D.; funding acquisition, A.R. and J.D. All authors have read
and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This work was financially supported by the research unit on Governance, Competitive-
ness and Public Policy (UIDB/04058/2020) + (UIDP/04058/2020), funded by national funds through
FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. This research is supported by national funding’s of
FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the project «UIDB/04005/2020».
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

Acknowledgments: We would like to express our gratitude to the Editor and the Referees. They
offered valuable suggestions or improvements. The authors were supported by the GOVCOPP Re-
search Center of the University of Aveiro, and COMEGI.
Conflicts of Interest: The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses,
or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Appendix A

Table A1. Overview of document citations period 2012 to 2022.

Documents 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Total
Research and implementation ofthe
2021 1 1 2
customer-oriented modem ...
Fine-Grained Context-aware Ad
2020 1 1
Targeting on Social Media Plat...
Modified dynamic fuzzy c-means
2020 1 6 6 13
clustering algorithm -Applic. ..
Evaluation of entrepreneurial support
2020 1 1
projects by using IFS ...
[Bidding Strategy ofComprehensive
2019 5 1 1 7
Energy Based Power Sellin ...
User sentiment analysis based on
2019 2 3 10 10 5 30
social network information ...
Predicting the helpfulness of online
2019 1 4 12 5 22
restaurant reviews usin ...
Exploring eWOM in online customer
2019 4 11 18 2 35
reviews: Sentiment analysi ...
lnnovative capacity-based approach
2019 2 2
to blue ocean strategies ...
Comparative analysis of store
2019 1 1
clustering tech niques in the r ...
A fuzzy DEMATEL method for
2018 3 1 4
analyzing key factors of the prod ...
lmpact ofinformation technology on
2018 2 9 28 10 49
information search chann ...
Optimal marketing strategy for
2018 2 2
electricity retailer consider ...
A Fuzzy ANP based weighted RFM
2018 1 4 1 6
model for customer segmentati ...
lmplementation of data mining
2018 1 2 4 4 11
technique for customer relatio ...
A fuzzy optimisation method for
2017 1 2 1 4
product variety selection un ...
An intelligent cloud-based customer
2017 1 2 3
relationship management ...
Application of artificial neural
2017 1 1
network method to analyze u ...
Predicting the influence of group
2016 1 1
buying on the restaurant's ...
Target marketing strategy
2016 2 1 3
determination for shopping malls u ...
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

Using fuzzy logic approach in

2015 1 1 2
estimating individual guest lo ...
Pricing and retail service decisions in
2015 1 7 9 5 6 2 7 2 39
fuzzy uncertainty en ...
A study on extraction of minority
2014 1 1 2
groups in questionnaire da ...
Study of collective user behaviour in
2014 4 2 1 2 3 12
twitter: A fuzzy appro ...
A group decision support system for
2014 1 1
selecting a SocialCRM
Analysis of user behaviors by mining
2014 1 2 4 7 6 2 2 4 28
large network data sets
Criteria Weighting and 4P's Planning
2014 2 4 2 2 2 2 2 16
in Marketing Using a Fu ...
Revised DEMATEL: Resolving the
2013 1 4 8 9 15 16 15 14 30 11 123
infeasibility of DEMATEL
Ranking important factors influencing
2013 1 1 1 3
organizational strateg ...
Formulating an optimal strategic
2013 1 1 1 3
marketing model by integral...
The risk assessment of marketing
2013 2 1 3
management system on the ba ...
Mining association rules uses fuzzy
2012 1 1 1 2 5
weighted FP-growth
Derivations of factors influencing the
2012 1 1 1 3
word-of-mouth marketi ...
A fuzzy decision support method for
2012 1 1 1 2 2 7
customer preferences ana ...
Fuzzy evaluating management
2012 1 1 1 3
performance and marketing strate ...
Customer loyalty programs to sustain
2012 2 2 2 2 1 1 10
consumer fidelity in mo ...
Applying cluster-based fuzzy
2012 3 1 4 4 1 1 4 18
association rules mining framew ...
Evaluation of children's afler-school
2012 1 1 2
programs in Taiwan: FA ...
Future oriented positioning analysis
2012 1 1
with Bayesian networks
The RFM-FCM approach for customer
2012 1 1
clustering
A neuro-lFS intelligent system for
2011 1 1 2
marketing strategy select ...
Applying Fuzzy Data Mining to
2011 1 2 1 1 1 6
Telecom Churn Management
"Made-in" Nigeria or "owned-by"
2011 1 1 1 3 1 7
lreland?: Country-of-origin ...
Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process
2011 4 4 4 3 6 6 1 3 3 1 1 36
and multi-segment geai pr ...
Visualizing rnarket segmentation
2011 8 7 5 5 5 4 7 9 4 2 4 60
using self-organizing rnaps a ...
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

Power customer credit rating based

2010 1 1
on FCM and the differenti ...
Applications and extensions of
2010 2 3 5 4 6 20
quality function deployment
Analyzing customer sales data with a
2010 1 1 2
fuzzy set approach
Applying fuzzy FP-growth to mine
2010 1 1 1 1 1 5
fuzzy association rules
Fuzzy group decision making in
2010 14 1 3 1 5 1 1 1 27
pursuit of a competitive rnark ...
Study on analysis of questionnaire
2009 1 1
data based on interactive ...
Extraction ofimportant keywords in
2009 2 1 1 4
free text of questionnai ...
Two-stage fuzzy clustering approach
2009 4 3 2 1 3 4 17
for load profiling
The customer marketing strategy of
2009 1 1
commercial banks based on ...
Personal credit scoring model based
2009 1 1
on integration of rough ...
Hybridising hurnan judgment, AHP,
2009 19 5 6 7 5 3 3 4 3 4 1 60
simulation anda fuzzy expe ...
Optimizing a marketing expert
2009 8 2 2 3 1 2 2 8 3 5 36
decision process for the priva ...
A case study of applying data mining
2009 12 8 5 3 8 2 3 2 4 2 2 51
techniques in an outfit ...
Fuzzy logic: a realistic toei for
2008 1 2 3
management of customer rei. ..
Effective marketing of a closed-loop
2006 1 1 2
supply chain network: A. ..
A knowledge acquisition method for
2006 2 1 3
determining utilities of ...
lntegrating group Delphi, fuzzy logic
2002 24 3 4 2 2 4 1 1 41
and expert systems for ...
GloStra - A hybrid system for
2001 13 1 14
developing global strategy and ...
Developing marketing strategy
2000 8 1 9
with MarStra: the support syst...
Neural networks and customer
2000 12 1 1 2 16
grouping in e-commerce: ...
Total 138 41 45 53 82 67 78 72 112 156 61 905
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

References
1. Hernández, A. B., and Hidalgo, D. B. Fuzzy Logic in Business, Management, and Accounting. Open Journal of Business
and Management, 2020, 8(6), 2524-2544. doi: 10.4236/ojbm.2020.86157
2. Scott, D. Fuzzy Logic. Investopedia, 2021. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fuzzy-logic.asp
3. Liu, J., and Yan, X. A commercial real estate investment analysis from CBR approach. Paper presented at the 2009 Interna-
tional Conference on Management Science and Engineering - 16th Annual Conference Proceedings, ICMSE 2009, 2009,
1921-1927. doi:10.1109/ICMSE.2009.5317745
4. Khan, N., and Khan, F. Fuzzy-based decision-making for promotional marketing campaigns. International Journal of Fuzzy
Logic Systems, 2013, 3(1), 64-77. doi: 10.5121/ijfls.2013.3107
5. Tallón-Ballesteros, A. J. Fuzzy Expert Pricing Systems and Optimization Techniques in Marketing Science. Fuzzy Systems
and Data Mining VI: Proceedings of FSDM 2020, 2020, 331, 255.
6. Noori, B. Developing a CBR system for marketing mix planning and weighting method selection using fuzzy AHP. Applied
Artificial Intelligence, 2015, 29(1), 1-32.
7. Aly, S., and Vrana, I. Fuzzy expert marketing-mix model. Agricultural Economics, 2005, 51(2), 69-79. https://www.agricul-
turejournals.cz/publicFiles/58223.pdf
8. Cheng, S. W. Y., Choy, K. L., and Lam, H. Y. An intelligent cloud-based customer relationship management system to
determine flexible pricing for customer retention. Paper presented at the PICMET 2016 - Portland International Conference
on Management of Engineering and Technology: Technology Management for Social Innovation, Proceedings, 2017, 633-
641. doi:10.1109/PICMET.2016.7806660
9. Munn, Z., Peters, M. D. J., Stern, C., Tufanaru, C., McArthur, A., and Aromataris, E. Systematic review or scoping review?
Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach. BMC Medical Research Method-
ology, 2018, 18(1), 143. doi: 10.1186/s12874-018-0611-x
10. Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N., and Lim, W. M. How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview
and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 2021, 133, 285-296. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.070
11. Raimundo, R. Rosário, A. Blockchain system in the Higher Education, European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psy-
chology and Education, 2021, 11(1), 276-293. doi:10.3390/ejihpe1101002
12. Rosário, A., Moniz, L., Cruz, R. Data Science Applied to Marketing: A Literature Review, Journal of Information Science
and Engineering, 2021, 37(5), 1067-1081. doi:10.6688/JISE.202109_37(5).0006
13. Rosário. A. T., Raimundo, R. Consumer Marketing Strategy on E-commerce in the Last Decade, Journal of Theoretical and
Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 2021, 16(7), 3003–3024. doi:10.3390/jtaer16070164
14. Rosário, A.T.; Dias, J.C. Sustainability and the Digital Transition: A Literature Review. Sustainability 2022, 14, 4072. doi:
10.3390/su14074072
15. Rosário, A.T.; Raimundo, R.J.; Cruz, S.P. Sustainable Entrepreneurship: A Literature Review. Sustainability 2022, 14, 5556.
doi: 10.3390/su14095556
16. Linnenluecke, M. K., Marrone, M., and Singh, A. K. Conducting systematic literature reviews and bibliometric analyses.
Australian Journal of Management, 2020, 45(2), 175-194. doi: 10.1177%2F0312896219877678
17. Xiao, Y., and Watson, M. Guidance on conducting a systematic literature review. Journal of Planning Education and Re-
search, 2019, 39(1), 93-112.
18. Abbasi, Z., and Anboohi, Z. K. Formulating an optimal strategic marketing model by integrating SWOT and fuzzy. Re-
search Journal of Applied Sciences, Engineering, and Technology, 2013, 5(12), 3423-3434. doi:10.19026/rjaset.5.4589
19. Lu, H., and Cao, J. Personal credit scoring model based on integration of rough set and GA-neural network. Nanjing Li
Gong Daxue Xuebao/Journal of Nanjing University of Science and Technology, 2009, 33(1), 194-198.
20. Bu, Q., and Zhang, F. The risk assessment of marketing management system on the basis of multi-level fuzzy comprehen-
sive evaluation 2013. doi:10.1007/978-1-4471-4600-1_73
21. De Maio, C., Gallo, M., Hao, F., Loia, V., and Yang, E. Fine-grained context-aware ad targeting on social media platforms.
Paper presented at the Conference Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, 2020,
3059-3065. doi:10.1109/SMC42975.2020.9282827
22. Cevallos-Torres, L., Botto-Tobar, M., Yepez-Holguín, J., Ortiz-Zambrano, J., and Valencia-Martínez, N. Political-electoral
marketing and influencing factors in student representatives’ elections under a fuzzy logic approach, 2019. doi:10.1007/978-
3-030-12018-4_10
23. Luo, Y., and Xu, X. Predicting the helpfulness of online restaurant reviews using different machine learning algorithms: A
case study of Yelp. Sustainability (Switzerland), 2019, 11(19) doi:10.3390/su11195254
24. Dereli, B., Asan, U., and Kadaifçi, Ç. Future-oriented positioning analysis with bayesian networks. Paper presented at the
World Scientific Proc. Series on Computer Engineering and Information Science 7; Uncertainty Modeling in Knowledge
Engineering and Decision Making - Proceedings of the 10th International FLINS Conf. , 7, 2012, 15-21.
doi:10.1142/9789814417747_0003
25. Garrido, A. A brief history of fuzzy logic. BRAIN. Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, 2012, 3(1),
71-77.
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

26. Chen, J., Liu, H., and He, J. Predicting the influence of group buying on the restaurant's popularity by online reviews. Paper
presented at the 2015 12th International Conference on Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery, FSKD 2015, 2016, 1068-
1072. doi:10.1109/FSKD.2015.7382090
27. Hanafizadeh, P., and Mirzazadeh, M. Visualizing market segmentation using self-organizing maps and fuzzy Delphi
method - ADSL market of a telecommunication company. Expert Systems with Applications, 2011, 38(1), 198-205.
doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2010.06.045
28. Chiu, H., Tang, Y., and Hsieh, K. Applying cluster-based fuzzy association rules mining framework into EC environment.
Applied Soft Computing Journal, 2012, 12(8), 2114-2122. doi:10.1016/j.asoc.2011.08.010
29. Madichie, N. "Made-in" Nigeria or "owned-by" Ireland?: Country-of-origin cues and the narratives of Guinness consump-
tion in London. Management Decision, 2011, 49(10), 1612-1622. doi:10.1108/00251741111183780
30. Chen, W. Research on competition strategy choice of real-state quality based on hierarchy-fuzzy decision method, 2013.
doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.655-657.2235
31. Fang, K., Chang, C., and Chi, Y. Constructing a dynamic knowledge management procedure by fuzzy clustering. Paper
presented at the WMSCI 2006 - the 10th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics, and Informatics, Jointly with
the 12th International Conference on Information Systems Analysis and Synthesis, ISAS 2006 - Proc., 2006, 1 256-261.
32. Cristea, R. N. Dynamic decision systems A fuzzy-duopoly approach. Paper presented at the PCI 2009 - 13th Panhellenic
Conference on Informatics, 2009, 3-6. doi:10.1109/PCI.2009.22
33. Ho, H., and Chen, C. (). Application of artificial neural network method to analyze user's behavior using clickstream data,
2017. doi:10.3233/978-1-61499-828-0-94
34. Mehrjerdi, Y. Z. Applications and extensions of quality function deployment. Assembly Automation, 2010, 30(4), 388-403.
doi:10.1108/01445151011075843
35. Rajabi, M., Hossani, S., and Dehghani, F. A literature review on current approaches and applications of fuzzy expert sys-
tems, 2019, arXiv preprint arXiv:1909.08794.
36. Inagaki, K., Yoshikawa, T., and Furuhashi, T. A study on extraction of minority groups in questionnaire data based on
spectral clustering. Paper presented at the IEEE International Conference on Fuzzy Systems, 2014, 988-993.
doi:10.1109/FUZZ-IEEE.2014.6891730
37. Dinçer, H., Baykal, E., and Yüksel, S. Innovative capacity-based approach to blue ocean strategies of family firms: An IT2
fuzzy hybrid decision-making analysis for potential investors. Journal of Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems, 2019, 37(6), 8459-
8470. doi:10.3233/JIFS-191091
38. Hu, D., Zhou, K., Li, F., and Ma, D. Electric vehicle user classification and value discovery based on charging big data.
Energy, 2022, 249 doi:10.1016/j.energy.2022.123698
39. Lee, A. H. I., Yang, C., and Lin, C. Evaluation of children's after-school programs in Taiwan: FAHP approach. Asia Pacific
Education Review, 2022, 13(2), 347-357. doi:10.1007/s12564-011-9202-9
40. Munusamy, S., and Murugesan, P. Modified dynamic fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm – application in dynamic cus-
tomer segmentation. Applied Intelligence, 2020, 50(6), 1922-1942. doi:10.1007/s10489-019-01626-x
41. Daramola, J. O., Oladipupo, O. O., and Musa, A. G. A fuzzy expert system (FES) tool for online personnel recruitments.
International Journal of Business Information Systems, 2010, 6(4), 444-462.
42. Li, S., and Li, J. Z. Hybridizing human judgment, AHP, simulation, and a fuzzy expert system for strategy formulation
under uncertainty. Expert Systems with Applications, 36(3 PART 1), 2009, 5557-5564. doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2008.06.095
43. Fu, X. Study of collective user behavior in Twitter: A fuzzy approach. Neural Computing and Applications, 2014, 25(7),
1603-1614. doi:10.1007/s00521-014-1642-9
44. Onar, S. C., Oztaysi, B., and Kahraman, C. Evaluation of entrepreneurial support projects by using IFS type-2 fuzzy sets,
2020. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-23756-1_113
45. Lau, H. C. W., Nakandala, D., Zhao, L., and Lai, I. K. W. Using fuzzy logic approach in estimating individual guest loyalty
levels for international tourist hotels. International Journal of Services, Technology, and Management, 2015, 21(1-3), 127-
145. doi:10.1504/IJSTM.2015.071097
46. Hu, Y. A knowledge acquisition method for determining utilities of linguistic values for product factors. European Journal
of Operational Research, 2006, 174(2), 945-958. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2005.01.054
47. Gao, S., Chen, L., and Chen, P. A fuzzy DEMATEL method for analyzing key factors of the product promotion. Journal of
Discrete Mathematical Sciences and Cryptography, 2018, 21(6), 1225-1228. doi:10.1080/09720529.2018.1525904
48. Park, S. Neural networks and customer grouping in e-commerce: A framework using fuzzy ART. Paper presented at the
Proceedings - Academia/Industry Working Conference on Research Challenges 2000: Next Generation Enterprises: Virtual
Organizations and Mobile/Pervasive Technologies, AIWORC, 2000, 331-336. doi:10.1109/AIWORC.2000.843312
49. Ravasan, A. Z., and Mansouri, T. A fuzzy ANP-based weighted RFM model for customer segmentation in auto insurance
sector. Intelligent systems: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications (pp. 1050-1067), 2018. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-
5643-5.ch044
50. Ghaderi, K., and Maihami, V. Fuzzy expert system for marketing decision model using development knowledge-based
system. International Proceedings of Computer Science & Information Technology, 2012, 1(41), 1-9.
51. Huang, C., and Ting, Y. Derivations of factors influencing the word-of-mouth marketing strategies for smart phone appli-
cations by using the fuzzy DEMATEL-based network process. Paper presented at the 2012 International Conference on
Fuzzy Theory and its Applications, iFUZZY, 2012, 42-47. doi:10.1109/iFUZZY.2012.6409673
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

52. Huang, C., and Huo, Y. Study on prediction model to terminal demand based on improved genetic neural network, 2013.
doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.798-799.506
53. Kar, A. K., and Khatwani, G. A group decision support system for selecting a SocialCRM, 2014.
54. Huang, S., Chang, E., and Wu, H. A case study of applying data mining techniques in an outfitter's customer value analysis.
Expert Systems with Applications, 2009, 36(3 PART 2), 5909-5915. doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2008.07.027
55. Restrepo, J. A., and Vanegas, J. G. Export capacity: Multi-criteria-based priorization using fuzzy logic. Paper presented at
the Annual International Conference of the American Society for Engineering Management 2012, ASEM 2012 - Agile Man-
agement: Embracing Change and Uncertainty in Engineering Management, 2012-January, 2012.
56. Keropyan, A., and Gil-Lafuente, A. M. Customer loyalty programs to sustain consumer fidelity in mobile telecommunica-
tion market. Expert Systems with Applications, 2012, 39(12), 11269-11275. doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2012.03.069
57. Forghani, E., Sheikh, R., Hosseini, S. M. H., and Sana, S. S. The impact of digital marketing strategies on customer's buying
behavior in online shopping using the rough set theory. International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Man-
agement, 2022, 13(2), 625-640. doi:10.1007/s13198-021-01315-4
58. Morgan, N. A., Whitler, K. A., Feng, H., and Chari, S. Research in marketing strategy. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
Science, 2019, 47(1), 4-29.
59. Hamal, S., Sennaroglu, B., and Arıoğlu, M. Ö. arketing strategy selection using fuzzy analytic network process, 2021.
doi:10.1007/978-3-030-51156-2_117
60. Khatwani, G., and Srivastava, P. R. Consumer preferences of information search channel and the role of information tech-
nology. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 2016 2nd International Conference on Contemporary Computing and
Informatics, IC3I 2016, 2016. 73-78. doi:10.1109/IC3I.2016.7917937
61. Hao, S. The customer marketing strategy of commercial banks based on customer lifetime value. Paper presented at the IE
and EM 2009 - Proceedings 2009 IEEE 16th International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Manage-
ment, 2009, 1423-1427. doi:10.1109/ICIEEM.2009.5344412
62. Yang, Y., Zhou, G., and Yang, F. Research on evaluation architecture of marketing performance for e-commerce websites,
2007. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-75466-6_62
63. Zhang, K., Luo, D., Wang, C., and Liu, A. Optimal marketing strategy for electricity retailer considering interruptible load.
Paper presented at the ICNC-FSKD 2017 - 13th International Conference on Natural Computation, Fuzzy Systems, and
Knowledge Discovery, 2018, 1344-1348. doi:10.1109/FSKD.2017.8392961
64. Išoraitė, M. Theoretical aspects of marketing strategy. Ekonomika Ir Vadyba: Aktualijos Ir Perspektyvos: Mokslo Darbai,
2009, (1), 114-125.
65. Zhang, Y., and Guan, X. A fuzzy optimization method to select marketing strategies for new products based on similar
cases. Journal of Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems, 2017, 32(3), 2679-2695. doi:10.3233/JIFS-16723
66. Hussain, S., Khattak, J., Rizwan, A., and Latif, M. A. ANSOFF matrix, environment, and growth-an interactive triangle.
Management and Administrative Sciences Review, 2013, 2(2), 196-206.
67. Hsu, T., Her, S., Chang, Y., and Hou, J. The application of an innovative marketing strategy MADM model-SIVA-need: A
case study of apple company. International Journal of Electronic Commerce Studies, 2022, 13(1), 33-68.
doi:10.7903/ijecs.1972
68. Hu, B., and Li, Z. Study on agent-based enterprise marketing simulation system. Huazhong Ligong Daxue Xuebao/Journal
Huazhong (Central China) University of Science and Technology, 2001, 29(5), 41-42.
69. Khatwani, G., and Srivastava, P. R. Impact of information technology on information search channel selection for consum-
ers. Journal of Organizational and End User Computing, 2018, 30(3), 63-80. doi:10.4018/JOEUC.2018070104
70. Lee, H., Tzeng, G., Yeih, W., Wang, Y., and Yang, S. Revised DEMATEL: Resolving the infeasibility of DEMATEL. Applied
Mathematical Modelling, 2013, 37(10-11), 6746-6757. doi:10.1016/j.apm.2013.01.016
71. Khatibi, V., Iranmanesh, H., and Keramati, A. A neuro-IFS intelligent system for marketing strategy selection, 2011.
doi:10.1007/978-3-642-27337-7_7
72. Nukala, S., and Gupta, S. M. Effective marketing of a closed-loop supply chain network: A fuzzy QFD approach. Paper
presented at the Proceedings of SPIE - the International Society for Optical Engineering, 2006, 6385 doi:10.1117/12.685461
73. Lin, C., Lee, C., and Wu, C. Optimizing a marketing expert decision process for the private hotel. Expert Systems with
Applications, 2009, 36(3 PART 1), 5613-5619. doi:10.1016/j.eswa.2008.06.113
74. Lin, C.., Lee, C., and Wu, C. Fuzzy group decision-making in pursuit of a competitive marketing strategy. International
Journal of Information Technology and Decision Making, 2010, 9(2), 281-300. doi:10.1142/S0219622010003828
75. Lee, Y., Chang, D., and Wu, B. Fuzzy evaluating management performance and marketing strategies in community col-
leges. International Journal of Innovative Computing, Information, and Control, 2012, 8(10 B), 7405-7413.
76. Xie, C., Xu, X., and Hou, W. Power customer credit rating based on FCM and the differential marketing strategy research.
Paper presented at the 2nd International Conference on Information Science and Engineering, ICISE2010 - Proceedings,
2010, 416-418. doi:10.1109/ICISE.2010.5690455
77. Sun, J. Variational fuzzy neural network algorithm for music intelligence marketing strategy optimization. Computational
Intelligence and Neuroscience, 2022. doi:10.1155/2022/9051058
78. Oztaysi, B., Gurbuz, T., Albayrak, E., and Kahraman, C. (). Target marketing strategy determination for shopping malls
using fuzzy ANP. Journal of Multiple-Valued Logic and Soft Computing, 2016, 27(5-6), 595-623.
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

79. Loredana, E. M. The use of the Ansoff matrix in the field of business. In MATEC Web of Conferences, 2016, 44, 141-149.
https://www.utgjiu.ro/revista/ec/pdf/2017-02.Volumul_2_Special/21_EcobiciL.pdf
80. Cao, H., Li, H., and Cui, Y. Construction of golf tournament marketing effectiveness evaluation system. Metallurgical and
Mining Industry, 2015, 7(7), 63-69.
81. Gürbüz, T., Albayrak, Y. E., and Alaybeyoǧlu, E. Criteria weighting and 4P's planning in marketing using a fuzzy metric
distance and AHP hybrid method. International Journal of Computational Intelligence Systems, 7(SUPPL.1), 2014, 94-104.
doi:10.1080/18756891.2014.853936
82. Imanova, G. Identification and ranking of key factors for pattern of consumer buying decisions in digital marketing, 2021.
doi:10.1007/978-3-030-68004-6_31
83. Hu, B., and Li, Z. Study on agent-based rescheduling system of enterprise marketing strategy. Huazhong Ligong Daxue
Xuebao/Journal Huazhong (Central China) University of Science and Technology, 2001, 29(5), 43-45.
84. Subing, L. J. Study on customer loyalty evaluation in the age of electronic commerce. Paper presented at the 2011 Interna-
tional Conference on E-Business and E-Government, ICEE2011 - Proceedings, 2011, 7300-7303. doi:10.1109/ICE-
BEG.2011.5886931
85. Zhu, B., Li, Y., and Feng, G. A fuzzy optimization method for product variety selection under uncertainty constraints.
International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 2017, 30(6), 606-615. doi:10.1080/0951192X.2016.1187300
86. Zhu, Y., and Cheng, Y. A cognition-based approach to analyzing customer segment's reservation price. Paper presented at
the Proceedings - International Conference on Management and Service Science, MASS 2009, 2009. doi:10.1109/IC-
MSS.2009.5303673
87. Zhou, Q., Xu, Z., and Yen, N. Y. User sentiment analysis based on social network information and its application in con-
sumer reconstruction intention. Computers in Human Behavior, 2019, 100, 177-183. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.07.006
88. Neshat, M., Baghi, A., Pourahmad, A. A., Sepidnam, G., Sargolzaei, M., and Masoumi, A. FHESMM: Fuzzy hybrid expert
system for marketing mix model. International Journal of Computer Science Issues (IJCSI), 2011, 8(6), 126-134.
89. Li, S., and Davies, B. J. GloStra - A hybrid system for developing global strategy and associated internet strategy. Industrial
Management and Data Systems, 2001, 101(3), 132-140. doi:10.1108/02635570110386643
90. Wang, C., Lee, W., Yeh, C., and Pang, C. Fuzzy QMD algorithm for mining fuzzy association rules. Paper presented at the
ACM International Conference Proceeding Series, 2017, 50-54. doi:10.1145/3162957.3162986
91. Zhang, J., Wang, Y., Wang, Z., Wang, H., and Lv, X. Evaluation and classification of travel value of passengers between
Wuhan and Yichang based on large samples. Paper presented at the Proceedings of 2020 IEEE International Conference on
Information Technology, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, ICIBA 2020, 2020, 118-122.
doi:10.1109/ICIBA50161.2020.9276961
92. Zhao, J., and Wang, L. Pricing and retail service decisions in fuzzy uncertainty environments. Applied Mathematics and
Computation, 2015, 250, 580-592. doi:10.1016/j.amc.2014.11.005
93. Liang, L., Yu, C., and Zhou, X.The index system of mobile health application based on the AHP-fuzzy comprehensive
evaluation method. Paper presented at the 2019 IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence, SSCI 2019, 2019,
577-583. doi:10.1109/SSCI44817.2019.9002886
94. Zakaria, Z., and Lo, K. L. Two-stage fuzzy clustering approach for load profiling. Paper presented at the Proceedings of
the Universities Power Engineering Conference, 2009.
95. Shah, M. Fuzzy logic: A realistic tool for management of customer relation. International Journal of Electronic Customer
Relationship Management, 2008, 2(2), 158-170. doi:10.1504/IJECRM.2008.019930
96. Zahrotun, L. Implementation of data mining technique for customer relationship management (CRM) on online shop toko-
diapers.com with fuzzy c-means clustering. Paper presented at the Proceedings - 2017 2nd International Conferences on
Information Technology, Information Systems, and Electrical Engineering, ICITISEE 2017, 2018, 299-303. doi:10.1109/ICI-
TISEE.2017.8285515
97. Liao, C. Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process and multi-segment goal programming applied to new product segmented un-
der price strategy. Computers and Industrial Engineering, 2011, 61(3), 831-841. doi:10.1016/j.cie.2011.05.016
98. Wang, J., Fang, N. G., and Sun, Q. (). Application of fuzzy-C-means algorithm based on rough set in client subdivision
research. Paper presented at the Proceedings - 2009 Asia-Pacific Conference on Information Processing, APCIP 2009, 2009,
1, 28-31. doi:10.1109/APCIP.2009.15
99. Wang, Z., Tu, L., Guo, Z., Yang, L. T., and Huang, B. Analysis of user behaviors by mining large network data sets. Future
Generation Computer Systems, 2014, 37, 429-437. doi:10.1016/j.future.2014.02.015
100. Soltanmohammad, N., Modiri, M., and Hafashjani, K. F. Ranking important factors influencing organizational strategy in
selecting distribution channels with the approach of FMCDM. Uncertain Supply Chain Management, 2013, 1(4), 253-263.
doi:10.5267/j.uscm.2013.09.004100. Wang, Q., and Zhang, B. Research and implementation of the customer-oriented mod-
ern hotel management system using fuzzy analytic hiererchical process (FAHP). Journal of Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems,
2021, 40(4), 8277-8285. doi:10.3233/JIFS-189650
101. Wang, Q., and Zhang, B. Research and implementation of the customer-oriented modern hotel management system using
fuzzy analytic hiererchical process (FAHP). Journal of Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems, 2021, 40(4), 8277-8285.
doi:10.3233/JIFS-189650
102. Watanabe, Y., Yoshikawa, T., and Furuhashi, T. Study on analysis of questionnaire data based on interactive clustering.
Paper presented at the IEEE International Conference on Fuzzy Systems, 2009, 98-103. doi:10.1109/FUZZY.2009.5277094
Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 28 June 2022 doi:10.20944/preprints202206.0378.v1

103. Gürbüz, T., Albayrak, Y. E., and Alaybeyoǧlu, E. Criteria weighing and 4P'S planning in marketing using a fuzzy metric
distance and AHP hybrid method. Paper presented at the World Scientific Proc. Series on Computer Engineering and In-
formation Science 7; Uncertainty Modeling in Knowledge Engineering and Decision Making - Proceedings of the 10th In-
ternational FLINS Conf. , 7, 2012, 255-260. doi:10.1142/9789814417747_0042
104. Wei, C., Valiullin, T., and Hao, L. A precise telecom customer tariff promotion method based on multi-route radial basis
kernel fuzzy C-means clustering, 2020. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-60239-0_22
105. Liao, K., and Chueh, H. Applying fuzzy data mining to telecom churn management, 2011. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-18129-
0_41
106. Wu, H., Chen, T., and Chiu, M. -. Analyzing customer sales data with a fuzzy set approach. International Review on Com-
puters and Software, 2010, 5(5), 536-539.
107. Chen, T. The RFM-FCM approach for customer clustering. International Journal of Technology Intelligence and Planning,
2012, 8(4), 358-373. doi:10.1504/IJTIP.2012.051779
108. Agarwal, K., Jain, P., and Rajnayak, M. Comparative analysis of store clustering techniques in the retail industry. Paper
presented at the DATA 2019 - Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Data Science, Technology and Applica-
tions, 2019, 65-73. doi:10.5220/0007917500650073