Evaluating the factors influencing marketing success in a nursery enterprise using decision support systems

This study aims to identify the key factors influencing marketing success in nursery enterprises and to evaluate these factors using decision support systems. With increasing urbanization, the expansion of landscape applications, and rising environmental awareness, the nursery sector has become a strategically significant area of production. Field research was conducted in Sakarya Province and its districts (Sapanca, Arifiye, and Serdivan), and data were collected through surveys administered to industry experts.Based on both fieldwork and expert opinions, nine core marketing criteria were identified: seedling quality, plant passport, product diversity, sustainability, accessibility, reliability, price affordability, ease of payment, and delivery service. These criteria were analyzed using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods, specifically the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). Through AHP, the weights of the criteria were calculated, revealing that "seedling quality" carried the highest importance with a weight of 19%. This finding underscores the significant impact of quality-oriented production on marketing success within the sector.Subsequently, the TOPSIS method was applied to compare different types of nursery businesses. The results indicated that large-scale private nurseries represented the most ideal profile in terms of marketing performance (C* = 0.96985), whereas small-scale public nurseries demonstrated the lowest level of success (C* = 0.21374).The findings highlight that private sector enterprises are generally more effective in implementing successful marketing strategies. In contrast, public sector nurseries require strategic improvements in this area. In this context, the study aims to contribute to the institutionalization of data-driven and scientifically grounded decision-making processes in the nursery industry.