Application of the analytic hierarchy process method in a comparison of financial leasing and loans

Abstract

Decision making is an integral part of all business processes. Some decisions are spontaneous and others time consuming, requiring detailed information about their implications. Decision making can be performed according to perspectives that may also be conflicting in nature. Models that are helpful in dealing with such problems are multi-criteria decision-making methods. The most important method in this group is the analytic hierarchy process. The principle of the analytic hierarchy process is the distribution of the main parts into smaller and more detailed elements and thus the creation of a structured problem. The aim of this paper is to select the optimal form of asset acquisition (loan or leasing) according to clients’ selected criteria using the analytic hierarchy proces (AHP) and a sensitivity analysis to assess the resulting rank of alternatives. Based on the criteria, financial leasing with a high down payment was selected as the best alternative. By means of the sensitivity analysis, it was found that the best alternative is not sensitive to a change in the weights estimated by the AHP.