Financial mismanagement: a fuzzy DEMATEL approach

Financial mismanagement poses a significant challenge for many organizations involving people from all walks of life, including students. When students enrol to further their study at a university, it might be the first time they are solely responsible for their own finance, requiring them to manage their own expenses. They might have different issues and problems in managing their finances. Financial issues among students are normal, but they cannot be overlooked as they can affect their future. Therefore, identifying the criteria that contributed to the financial mismanagement among students is very crucial. A decision-making instrument which is Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), was constructed in this study. It is focusing on the selection process to calculate, rank and identify the causes and effects that contribute to the students’ financial mismanagement. Based on the analysis of six criteria, the finding shows that the criteria of spending behaviour hit the first place in the ranking order, followed by financial behaviour and financial independence. The causal diagram showed four criteria as the cause group, while two as the effect group.