Green Transition for the Service Industry: Determination of Priority Actions Based on Balanced Scorecard by Hybrid Fuzzy Siwec-Topsis Method

As concerns about environmental sustainability deepen, demands for green transition increase. In this context, regulations on environmental sustainability are mostly aimed at the manufacturing sector or large companies. Service sector SMEs, which lie outside strong regulatory frameworks, must respond to these demands in the context of stakeholder theory. However, studies indicate that SMEs, perceived to have low individual environmental impacts, exert high collective impacts. In addition, green transition offers a path of resilience for structurally vulnerable SMEs. SMEs need simplified standards or unique solutions for the green transition. Based on the question of which steps should be taken first regarding the green transition, which includes a comprehensive list of practices and the necessity of creating a roadmap, this study aims to provide guidelines for professional services industry SMEs to select the optimum green transition practices based on the balanced scorecard framework. The steps to be taken within the scope of green transition are considered a decision problem in a holistic context covering financial, stakeholder, business process, employee, and environmental performance metrics. The fuzzy SIWEC method was preferred to determine the importance of the balanced scorecard performance metrics. The fuzzy TOPSIS method was selected to choose the optimal green transition practices. The findings show that operational arrangements constitute the most critical green transition practice. Then, it is followed by employee awareness training, sustainability reports, and environmental impact assessments, which have similar weight values. Environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities are of the lowest importance. In a field where information flow is limited, the holistic perspective on the subject and the method used constitute the originality and contribution of the study.