International Journal of Computational Intelligence Systems Vol. 14(1), 2021, pp. 991–1002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2991/ijcis.d.210222.001; ISSN: 1875-6891; eISSN: 1875-6883 https://www.atlantis-press.com/journals/ijcis/ Research Article An Intuitionistic Fuzzy Decision-Making for Developing Cause and Effect Criteria of Subcontractors Selection Lazim Abdullah 1,*, , Zheeching Ong 2 , Nuraini Rahim 3 1 Management Science Research Group, Faculty of Ocean Engineering Technology and Informatics, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, 21030, Malaysia 2 Public Bank Berhad, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kota Bharu, 15200, Malaysia 3 Management Science Research Group, Faculty of Ocean Engineering Technology and Informatics, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, 21030, Malaysia ARTICLE INFO Article History Received 30 Sep 2020 Accepted 02 Feb 2021 Keywords Intuitionistic fuzzy set Decision-making DEMATEL Causal diagram Subcontractor selection. ABSTRACT The decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method has been applied to solve numerous multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problems where crisp numbers are utilized in defining linguistic evaluation. Previous literature sug- gests that the intuitionistic fuzzy DEMATEL (IF-DEMATEL) can offer a new decision-making method in solving MCDM prob- lems where intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs) are utilized in defining linguistic evaluation. This paper aims to develop a cause–effect diagram of subcontractor selection using a modified IF-DEMATEL method. In this paper, three modifications are made to the IF-DEMATEL method. Two memberships of IFSs, relative weights of experts, and a transformation equation are the elements introduced to the IF-DEMATEL. The linguistic variables that defined in IFSs are meant to capture wide arrays of uncertain and fuzzy information in solving MCDM problems. Furthermore, the modified IF-DEMATEL is applied it to a subcontractors’ selection problem where groups of cause and effect criteria are segregated. A group of experts’ opinions were sought to provide linguistic evaluations regarding the degree of influence between criteria in subcontractors’ selection. The results show that four criteria are identified as cause criteria while six other criteria are identified as effect criteria. The results also suggest that the cri- teria “experience” is the main cause that influence the selection of subcontractors. The identification of cause and effect criteria would be a great significance for practical implementation of subcontractors’ selection. © 2021 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press B.V. This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). 1. INTRODUCTION The decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMA- TEL) method is one of the many multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods that available in literature. The DEMATEL was initially developed by the Science and Human Affairs Program of the Battelle Memorial Institute of Geneva between 1972 and 1976 to study and resolve the complicated and intertwined problems [1,2]. Compared with other traditional MCDM techniques such as the analytic hierarchy process where criteria are independent, this method is one of the structural modeling techniques that can identify the interdependencies of system elements through causal- ity graphs. The causal diagram uses digraphs rather than direction- less graphs to portray the basic concept of contextual relationships and the strengths of influence among the elements [3]. This method has been applied in analyzing and developing the relationship of cause and effect among evaluation criteria [4]. In other words, the DEMATEL is used to derive inter-relationship among factors or cri- teria [5]. The DEMATEL is a comprehensive method for developing a basic model that contains causal connections between complex criteria. As to provide more evidence on the state-of-the-art of the * Corresponding author. Email: lazim_m@umt.edu.my DEMATEL, Si et al.[6], made a systematic review of the DEMATEL and its applications. In the DEMATEL, all criteria of the MCDM problems are partitioned into classifications, that is the cause and effect groups. Despite all these advantages, the linguistic evaluation in DEMA- TEL suffers from several limitations. The DEMATEL is insufficient to provide a good decision tool in this age because most of the information are regularly exorbitant and huge. In addition, elic- itation of experts’ opinion could give evaluation in the situation where information is restricted or incomplete. In fact, the fuzzi- ness in experts’ opinions or insufficient knowledge about an issue could make the decision-making process more complicated [6,7]. In response to these limitations, the integration of fuzzy sets and DEMATEL (fuzzy DEMATEL) was proposed. The fuzzy DEMA- TEL basically works similar with the DEMATEL frameworks except for the linguistic used in evaluation. In the fuzzy DEMATEL, the seven-step computational procedures are embedded with fuzzy numbers where incomplete and vague information could be dealt with accordingly. The fuzzy DEMATEL has been used extensively in solving various decision problems [8–16]. Despite its success, previous literature suggests that intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (IFNs) are better options in dealing with incomplete and vague infor- mation in decision-making. These numbers are characterized by