Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Exploring
treated wastewater issues related to agriculture in Europe, employing a
quantitative SWOT analysis
Summary
This
journal article uses a quantitative SWOT analysis for the SuWaNu research
project funded by the “EU Commission FP7 framework.” The objective of the study
is to identify impediments and factors for the application of sustainable water
treatment and options for nutrient reuse in the EU.
- The methodological framework used in this study is a quantitative Delphi method supplemented by a concluding SWOT analysis. The survey sampled 25 experts who are keenly aware of the complexities of wastewater management. These subject matter experts were selected because they were invested stakeholders in Greece and Western Macedonia. The importance of the Delphi method in this particular case is that it is the first time the method is used with SWOT in a treated wastewater study.
- The Delphi method uses a questionnaire that uses three steps, the first being the narrowing of important factors, and the ranking and listing of said factors. Included in the first step is a Likert-type scale value to allow a ranking file to be established from 0 (strongly disagree) to 9 (strongly agree). In step two, it was sent to the pool of experts who were told to list 6 important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to treated wastewater reuse and rank them accordingly. The ranking is step three by use of the Likert-type scale to rank all the subsets listed in each SWOT sector.
- In the final analysis of the study, strengths of wastewater reuse were found in the markets, followed by economic aspects, and then legislation sector. Opportunities held high scores in technology transference; followed by economic aspects, water availability, and social aspects. For weaknesses, economic aspects followed by technical aspects, and markets held the highest scores. Finally, for threats, it was found technical aspects, social aspects, agriculture, and markets had the highest scores.
In
the conclusion, it was found that traditional farming in West Macedonia; a lack
of innovation in applied agriculture technology; and a current economic crisis
in Greece were major influencing factors for the results found in the study. Strengths
for the future have forecasts to be in research and development capabilities to
local agricultural research institutions.
Critique:
The
use of the Delphi method and SWOT are combined in this study to produce a
forecast, intended to increase efficiency of agriculture and wastewater reuse
in Western Macedonia. This study is important because it is the first time SWOT
is used in wastewater issues. The study, though vague on the subsets listed
under each SWOT area for major impacts to the results, still gives a good
understanding of where agriculture can be taken in Western Macedonia.
Sources
Karasavvoglou, A. G., Kyrkilis, D.,
Polychronidou, P., Michailidis, A., Papadaki-Klavdianou, A., Apostolidou, I., et al. (2015). The Economies
of Balkan and Eastern Europe Countries
in the Changed World (EBEEC 2015) Exploring Treated Wastewater Issues Related
to Agriculture in Europe, Employing a Quantitative SWOT Analysis. Procedia Economics
and Finance, 33, 367-375.
Posts
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ReplyDeleteI found the idea of a quantitative SWOT analysis rather fascinating. I had to read over the study to really wrap my mind around that concept, so thanks for sharing the link!
ReplyDeleteNo problem Hank, due to competitive intelligence the title just struck me as odd, due to the examples we did for the class. After reading it, it made sense how numerical data can be applied in a quantitative manner which could be beneficial in any area of application.
ReplyDeleteIt seems the results of this study appear to exemplify one of the major critiques for SWOT which is that different perspectives often yield varying results. In the findings section, it says economic aspects were highly ranked in the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities quadrants. These type of results muddy the waters of providing clarity in the studies findings. Perhaps this is why the Delphi method was used as a supplemental methodology, in an attempt to provide more nuance to the findings.
ReplyDeleteEric S
This plays into what the other reviews have stated, or at least Sam's, in that SWOT really should be paired with another analytical method in order for it to have real forecasting ability. That statement however may not be indicative of SWOT alone as many other methods are improved when paired with other methods. Your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with your words Ruark, for through the use of diverse and multiple tools/methods/modifiers one should come out with more sound results. Of course it will take a run through in a scenario to test and verify that this is correct.
ReplyDelete