Eigenvector method,consistency test and inconsistency repairing for an incomplete fuzzy preference relation

In this paper, we extend the eigenvector method (EM) to priority for an incomplete fuzzy preference relation. We give a reasonable definition of multiplicative consistency for an incomplete fuzzy preference relation. We also give an approach to judge whether an incomplete fuzzy relation is acceptable or not. We develop the acceptable consistency ratio for an incomplete multiplicative fuzzy preference relation, which is simple and similar to Saaty’s consistency ratio (CR) for the multiplicative preference relation. If the incomplete fuzzy preference relation is not of acceptable consistency, we define a criterion to find the unusual and false element (UFE) in the preference relation, and present an algorithm to repair an inconsistent fuzzy preference relation until its consistency is satisfied with the consistency ratio. As a result, our improvement method cannot only satisfy the consistency requirement, but also preserve the initial preference information as much as possible. Finally, an example is illustrated to show that our method is simple, efficiency, and can be performed on computer easily.     

An integrated model-based interactive approach to FMAGDM with incomplete preference information

Incomplete fuzzy preference relations, incomplete multiplicative preference relations, and incomplete linguistic preference relations are very useful to express decision makers’ incomplete preferences over attributes or alternatives in the process of decision making under fuzzy environments. The aim of this paper is to investigate fuzzy multiple attribute group decision making problems where the attribute values are represented in intuitionistic fuzzy numbers and the information on attribute weights is provided by decision makers by means of one or some of the different preference structures, including weak ranking, strict ranking, difference ranking, multiple ranking, interval numbers, incomplete fuzzy preference relations, incomplete multiplicative preference relations, and incomplete linguistic preference relations. We transform all individual intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrices into the interval decision matrices and construct their expected decision matrices, and then aggregate all these expected decision matrices into a collective one. We establish an integrated model by unifying the collective decision matrix and all the given different structures of incomplete weight preference information, and develop an integrated model-based approach to interacting with the decision makers so as to adjust all the inconsistent incomplete fuzzy preference relations, inconsistent incomplete linguistic preference relations and inconsistent incomplete multiplicative preference relations into the ones with acceptable consistency. The developed approach can derive the attribute weights and the ranking of the alternatives directly from the integrated model, and thus it has the following prominent characteristics: (1) it does not need to construct the complete fuzzy preference relations, complete linguistic preference relations and complete multiplicative preference relations from the incomplete fuzzy preference relations, incomplete linguistic preference relations and incomplete multiplicative preference relations, respectively; (2) it does not need to unify the different structures of incomplete preferences, and thus can simplify the calculation and avoid distorting the given preference information; and (3) it can sufficiently reflect and adjust the subjective desirability of decision makers in the process of interaction. A practical example is also provided to illustrate the developed approach.     

A goal programming model for incomplete interval multiplicative preference relations and its application in group decision-making

In decision making problems, there may be the cases where the decision makers express their judgements by using preference relations with incomplete information. Then one of the key issues is how to estimate the missing preference values. In this paper, we introduce an incomplete interval multiplicative preference relation and give the definitions of consistent and acceptable incomplete ones, respectively. Based on the consistency property of interval multiplicative preference relations, a goal programming model is proposed to complement the acceptable incomplete one. A new algorithm of obtaining the priority vector from incomplete interval multiplicative preference relations is given. The goal programming model is further applied to group decision-making (GDM) where the experts evaluate their preferences as acceptable incomplete interval multiplicative preference relations. An interval weighted geometric averaging (IWGA) operator is proposed to aggregate individual preference relations into a social one. Furthermore, the social interval multiplicative preference relation owns acceptable consistency when every individual one is acceptably consistent. Two numerical examples are carried out to show the efficiency of the proposed goal programming model and the algorithms.     

A chi-square method for obtaining a priority vector from multiplicative and fuzzy preference relations

Decision makers (DMs)’ preferences on decision alternatives are often characterized by multiplicative or fuzzy preference relations. This paper proposes a chi-square method (CSM) for obtaining a priority vector from multiplicative and fuzzy preference relations. The proposed CSM can be used to obtain a priority vector from either a multiplicative preference relation (i.e. a pairwise comparison matrix) or a fuzzy preference relation or a group of multiplicative preference relations or a group of fuzzy preference relations or their mixtures. Theorems and algorithm about the CSM are developed. Three numerical examples are examined to illustrate the applications of the CSM and its advantages.     

Some models for deriving the priority weights from interval fuzzy preference relations

Interval fuzzy preference relation is a useful tool to express decision maker’s uncertain preference information. How to derive the priority weights from an interval fuzzy preference relation is an interesting and important issue in decision making with interval fuzzy preference relation(s). In this paper, some new concepts such as additive consistent interval fuzzy preference relation, multiplicative consistent interval fuzzy preference relation, etc., are defined. Some simple and practical linear programming models for deriving the priority weights from various interval fuzzy preference relations are established, and two numerical examples are provided to illustrate the developed models.     

Iterative algorithms for improving consistency of intuitionistic preference relations

Consistency of preference relations is an important research topic in decision making with preference information. The existing research about consistency mainly focuses on multiplicative preference relations, fuzzy preference relations and linguistic preference relations. Intuitionistic preference relations, each of their elements is composed of a membership degree, a non-membership degree and a hesitation degree, can better reflect the very imprecision of preferences of decision makers. There has been little research on consistency of intuitionistic preference relations up to now, and thus, it is necessary to pay attention to this issue. In this paper, we first propose an approach to constructing the consistent (or approximate consistent) intuitionistic preference relation from any intuitionistic preference relation. Then we develop a convergent iterative algorithm to improve the consistency of an intuitionistic preference relation. Moreover, we investigate the consistency of intuitionistic preference relations in group decision making situations, and show that if all individual intuitionistic preference relations are consistent, then the collective intuitionistic preference relation is also consistent. Moreover, we develop a convergent iterative algorithm to improve the consistency of all individual intuitionistic preference relations. The practicability and effectiveness of the developed algorithms is verified through two examples.     

Multiperson decision-making based on multiplicative preference relations

A multiperson decision-making problem, where the information about the alternatives provided by the experts can be presented by means of different preference representation structures (preference orderings, utility functions and multiplicative preference relations) is studied. Assuming the multiplicative preference relation as the uniform element of the preference representation, a multiplicative decision model based on fuzzy majority is presented to choose the best alternatives. In this decision model, several transformation functions are obtained to relate preference orderings and utility functions with multiplicative preference relations. The decision model uses the ordered weighted geometric operator to aggregate information and two choice degrees to rank the alternatives, quantifier guided dominance degree and quantifier guided non-dominance degree. The consistency of the model is analysed to prove that it acts coherently.     

A robust additive consistency-based method for decision making with triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations

To express uncertain information in decision making, triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations (TFRPRs) might be adopted by decision makers. Considering consistency of this type of preference relations, this paper defines a new additive consistency concept, which can be seen as an extension of that for reciprocal preference relations. Then, a simple method to calculate the triangular fuzzy priority weight vector is introduced. When TFRPRs are inconsistent, a linear goal programming framework to derive the completely additive consistent TFRPRs is provided. Meanwhile, an improved linear goal programming model is constructed to estimate the missing values in an incomplete TFRPR that can address the situation where ignored objects exist. After that, an algorithm for decision making with TFRPRs is presented. Finally, numerical examples and comparison analysis are offered.     

Group decision making based on intuitionistic multiplicative aggregation operators

Preference relations are the most common techniques to express decision maker’s preference information over alternatives or criteria. To consistent with the law of diminishing marginal utility, we use the asymmetrical scale instead of the symmetrical one to express the information in intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations, and introduce a new kind of preference relation called the intuitionistic multiplicative preference relation, which contains two parts of information describing the intensity degrees that an alternative is or not priority to another. Some basic operations are introduced, based on which, an aggregation principle is proposed to aggregate the intuitionistic multiplicative preference information, the desirable properties and special cases are further discussed. Choquet Integral and power average are also applied to the aggregation principle to produce the aggregation operators to reflect the correlations of the intuitionistic multiplicative preference information. Finally, a method is given to deal with the group decision making based on intuitionistic multiplicative preference relations.     

犹豫直觉模糊偏好关系积性一致性及其在群决策中的应用

模糊偏好关系在群决策中得到了广泛研究,针对犹豫直觉模糊集既能反映决策者偏好和非偏好的信息,又能描述其犹豫心理的特点,提出了犹豫直觉模糊偏好关系及其积性一致性的定义。为了修复不一致的犹豫直觉模糊偏好关系,先构建积性一致性指标,然后提出两种修复方法。最后,将犹豫直觉模糊偏好关系应用到群决策中,通过实例和比较说明了两种修复方法的有效性和合理性。     

Normalizing rank aggregation method for priority of a fuzzy preference relation and its effectiveness

The aim of this paper is to show that the normalizing rank aggregation method can not only be used to derive the priority vector for a multiplicative preference relation, but also for the additive transitive fuzzy preference relation. To do so, a simple functional equation between fuzzy preference’s element and priority weight is derived firstly, then, based on the equation, three methods are proposed to prove that the normalizing rank aggregation method is simple and effective for deriving the priority vector. Finally, a numerical example is used to illustrate the proposed methods.     

Consistency analysis of triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations

In order to simulate the uncertainty associated with impression or vagueness, a decision maker may give her/his judgments by means of triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations in the process of decision making. The study of their consistency becomes a very important aspect to avoid a misleading solution. Based on the reciprocity property, this paper proposes a new definition of consistent triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations. The new definition is different from that reduced by consistent fuzzy reciprocal preference relations proposed by Buckley (1985). The properties of consistent triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations in the light of the new definition are studied in detail. In addition, the shortcomings of the proof procedure of the proposition given by Wang and Chen (2008) are pointed out. And the proposition is reproved by using the new definition of consistent triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations. Finally, using the (n − 1) restricted comparison ratios, a method for obtaining consistent triangular fuzzy reciprocal preference relations is proposed, and an algorithm is shown to make a consistent decision ranking. Numerical results are further calculated to illustrate the new definition and the obtained algorithm.     

基于乘性模糊互补判断矩阵的FAHP

根据乘性一致性的定义,从人的主观判断与其权重的函数关系出发,获得了乘性模糊互补判断矩阵的元素表达式,论证了利用乘性模糊互补判断矩阵求取因素相对权重的可行性,最后给出了一种基于乘性一致模糊判断矩阵的排序方法.从而使得乘性模糊互补判断矩阵的应用的理论基础更加坚实.     

A least deviation method for priority derivation in group decision making with incomplete reciprocal preference relations

In this paper, based on the transfer relationship between reciprocal preference relation and multiplicative preference relation, we proposed a least deviation method (LDM) to obtain a priority vector for group decision making (GDM) problems where decision-makers' (DMs') assessments on alternatives are furnished as incomplete reciprocal preference relations with missing values. Relevant theorems are investigated and a convergent iterative algorithm about LDM is developed. Using three numerical examples, the LDM is compared with the other prioritization methods based on two performance evaluation criteria: maximum deviation and maximum absolute deviation. Statistical comparative study, complexity of computation of different algorithms, and comparative analyses are provided to show its advantages over existing approaches.     

Derivation of intuitionistic fuzzy weights based on intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations

This paper proposes linear goal programming models for deriving intuitionistic fuzzy weights from intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations. Novel definitions are put forward to define additive consistency and weak transitivity for intuitionistic fuzzy preference relations, followed by a study of their corresponding properties. For any given normalized intuitionistic fuzzy weight vector, a transformation formula is furnished to convert the weights into a consistent intuitionistic fuzzy preference relation. For any intuitionistic fuzzy preference relation, a linear goal programming model is developed to obtain its intuitionistic fuzzy weights by minimizing its deviation from the converted consistent intuitionistic fuzzy preference relation. This approach is then extended to group decision-making situations. Three numerical examples are provided to illustrate the validity and applicability of the proposed models.     

The geometric mean procedure for estimating the scale of a judgement matrix

Typically the literature has advocated the use of the dominant right eigenvector and an associated consistency ratio “C.R.” We give reasons why the geometric mean (GM) (also known as the LLSM or logarithmic least-squares method) may be preferable as an estimator of the unknown underlying scale u. We also develop an index of consistency and related rules to judge the consistency of a matrix when using the GM as an estimator. The rules for the index of consistency are closely related to the commonly used rule that the C.R. should be <0.1.     

Deriving priority weights from intuitionistic multiplicative preference relations under group decision-making settings

The intuitionistic multiplicative preference relation (IMPR), which takes into account both the ratio degree to which an alternative is preferred to another and the ratio degree to which an alternative is non-preferred to another, is a useful tool for decision makers to elicit their preference information using Saaty’s 1–9 scale. In this paper, we focus on group decision making with IMPRs. First, we analyze the flaws of the consistency definition of an IMPR in previous work and then propose a new definition to overcome the flaws. On this basis, a linear programming-based algorithm is developed to check and improve the consistency of an IMPR. Second, we discuss the relationships between an IMPR and a normalized intuitionistic multiplicative weight vector and develop two approaches to group decision making based on complete and incomplete IMPRs, respectively. Based on the proposed algorithm and approaches, a general framework for group decision making with IMPRs is proposed. Finally, some numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the proposed approaches. The results show that the proposed approaches can deal with group decision-making problems with IMPRs effectively.     

Optimal aggregation of fuzzy preference relations with an application to broadband internet service selection

This paper investigates the aggregation of multiple fuzzy preference relations into a collective fuzzy preference relation in fuzzy group decision analysis and proposes an optimization based aggregation approach to assess the relative importance weights of the multiple fuzzy preference relations. The proposed approach that is analytical in nature assesses the weights by minimizing the sum of squared distances between any two weighted fuzzy preference relations. Relevant theorems are offered in support of the proposed approach. Multiplicative preference relations are also incorporated into the approach using an appropriate transformation technique. An eigenvector method is introduced to derive the priorities from the collective fuzzy preference relation. The proposed aggregation approach is tested using two numerical examples. A third example involving broadband internet service selection is offered to illustrate that the proposed aggregation approach provides a simple, effective and practical way of aggregating multiple fuzzy preference relations in real-life situations.     

A Procedure for Decision Making Based on Incomplete Fuzzy Preference Relation

In this paper, we investigate the decision making problem based on fuzzy preference relation with incomplete information. We first introduce incomplete fuzzy preference relation and present some of its desirable properties. We then develop a system of equations. Based on this system of equations, we propose a procedure for decision making based on incomplete fuzzy preference relation, and finally, a numerical example is presented to illustrate the proposed procedure.     

模糊数互补判断矩阵的乘性一致性检验及改进方法

针对模糊数互补判断矩阵的乘性一致性检验及改进问题进行研究。在文献[11]引入模糊数的Q-算子和模糊数互补判断矩阵的Q-算子矩阵概念的基础上,通过构造具有乘性一致性的特征矩阵及偏差矩阵,建立了衡量乘性一致性程度的指标值并用设定阈值的方法给出了满意乘性一致性的概念,对于不满足满意乘性一致性的情况提出了改进方法。最后通过一个算例说明了此方法的可行性。