On the Assessment of e-Banking Websites Supporting Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

The main aim of this article was to test the authors’ proprietary method (i.e., the conversion method applied to evaluate e-banking services that support sustainable development goals in households, communities, and society). The authors’ conversion method can be applied with the aim of maintaining a balance between households, producers, and public administration services in line with the principles of sustainable development of the information society in Poland. To achieve this goal, the authors identified the differences between the results obtained using the conversion method and the results produced by other methods such as TOPSIS, Promethee II, and PROSA involving the same group of respondents. A hypothesis was made about the existence of significant differences in the results obtained as part of the studies. The research was carried out on a sample of nearly 830 ratings concerning the 27 most popular electronic banks in Poland. As part of the survey, the respondents assessed 18 characteristics (attributes) of the selected banks using a simplified Likert scale. The study was conducted during the pandemic in Poland in 2020. The authors compared the results achieved in the case of the TOPSIS, Promethee II, and PROSA methods and the ones obtained with the application of the conversion method. Then, the ratings of the e-banking websites were arranged in descending order, and the distances between the positions in the rankings obtained by the conversion method and other methods were calculated. In addition, the R2 correlation coefficients were calculated for all combinations of the results received using individual methods. The results showed the greatest differences both in the absolute distances between the positions obtained in the ranking and the lowest value of the R2 correlation coefficient in the case of the conversion method in relation to the other methods. The limitation of the present research resulted from the fact that the study sample included respondents who were all members of the academic environment. The students analyzed in the study were part of a group supporting globalization processes where e-business solutions are widely used. However, the purchases of goods and services both local and foreign made by this group were often limited in scope and value due to a lack of funds. The research results indicate a potential need for improvement of the conversion method.

Universal Model to Predict Expected Direction of Products Quality Improvement

“…Therefore, the model can be useful for an entity (expert, broker, or bidder) to determine relevant improvement actions to improve currently existing products. The proposed model was developed by combining these instruments: SMART(-ER) method (S-specific, M-measurable, A-achievable, R-relevant, realistic, or reward, T-'based on timeline' or timebound, E-exciting or evaluated, R-recorded or reward) [32], brainstorming method (BM) [33], survey with Likert scale [1,[34][35][36], Weighted Sum Model (WSM) [3,[37][38][39], relative states scale [3,4,40], and Naïve Bayesian Classifier (NBC) [41][42][43][44]. The general concept of the model is shown in Figure 1.…”

“…The obtaining of customers' expectations refers to their requirements of product criteria. Toward this aim, the popular and most often tool is used, that is, the survey with the Likert scale [1,[34][35][36]. In turn, to estimate the required number of customers from which expectations are required, the method for estimating the sample size to predict is used, as shown in [1].…”

“…In addition, satisfaction with the quality of all criteria states determined in the third stage of the model is necessary, where 1 is a state that is not very satisfying and 5 is a state with the most satisfaction [34,36]. If the product criteria are not well known by the customer, it is recommended that the entity (expert, bidder, or broker) assists the customer in completing the survey.…”

Personalizing Environmental Awareness through Smartphones Using AHP and PROMETHEE II

“…MCDM is a decision support methodology which is used to improve the credibility and reliability of the selected solution. MCDM aims to help the decision makers to find an optimal solution in accordance with the criteria in question, as for example in [33][34][35][36][37]. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) [38,39] is one of the most popular MCDM theories, focusing on organizing and analyzing complex decisions; it provides a logical framework for a specific decision by quantifying its alternative options and criteria.…”

Towards Sustainable Transport Assessment Considering Alternative Fuels Based on MCDA Methods

“…MCDA methods are widely used in transport assessment because they allow for building models with multiple criteria necessary to evaluate and consider them simultaneously. For example, the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is widely popular among researchers and practitioners due to its wide range of applications in various fields and real-life decision problems [15]. The TOPSIS method was applied for transport assessment concerning energy and environmental efficiency divided into road, rail, and air transport sectors [6].…”