Research of the economic positioning of the Western Balkan countries using the LOPCOW and EDAS methods

Abstract

The issue of analyzing the factors of the dynamics of the economic performance of each economy, which means also the countries of Western Balkan (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Serbia), is continuously very current, challenging, significant and complex. Adequate control of the analyzed economic indicators can have a significant impact on the achievement of the target economic performance of each economy, including the countries of the Western Balkans. The application of multi-criteria decision-making methods enables adequate control of the key factors of the economic performances of the economies of the Western Balkan countries. In this paper, starting from that, the economic performances of the economies of the Western Balkan countries are comparatively analyzed based on the LOPCOW-EDAS method. According to the results of the given research, Serbia is the leading country in the Western Balkans in terms of economic performance. Followed by: Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Recently, the economic performance of the Serbian economy has significantly improved. Adequate control of relevant influential factors can greatly influence the achievement of the target economic performance of the Serbian economy. The digitization of the company's entire operations certainly plays a significant role in this.