Delphi and fuzzy TOPSIS approach for redefining the scope of postal universal service obligation

• Published in: Journal of regulatory economics Vol. 68; no. 1; pp. 38 - 52
• Main Authors: Jovanović, Bojan, Šarac, Dragana, Čačić, Nataša
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2025; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Candidates; Customer services; Deregulation; Economics; Economics and Finance; Incumbency; Industrial Organization; Liberalization; Microeconomics; Monopolies; Original Article; Postal & delivery services; Public Finance; Sustainability; Telecommunications; Universal service; User needs; Serbia; Redefining; Postal universal service obligation; Sustainability; L87; L53; D81; Delphi; Fuzzy TOPSIS
• ISSN: 0922-680X; 1573-0468
• DOI: 10.1007/s11149-025-09489-6

The postal industry has undergone drastic changes over the last 30 years. These changes include the separation of postal and telecommunications sectors and the abolition of the monopoly status of postal incumbents. In the postal sector, the Universal Service Obligation (USO) has a very important role. The most common mechanism for fulfilling USO requirements was the reserved services mechanism (by weight and/or price). However, EU countries have abolished such practices and fully opened their markets (the last one in 2013), using alternative mechanisms for financing USO. The question that has arisen with the processes of liberalization and deregulation of the postal market is whether the USO can exist without the reserved services, specifically for candidate countries that still have reserved areas. This paper focuses on defining the sustainable scope of the USO in Serbia, a candidate country working towards full implementation of postal directives, with the help of the Delphi and Fuzzy TOPSIS approaches. The developed methodology can serve as a universal tool for redefining the scope of the postal USO in any country around the world.