Strategic Weight Manipulation in Multiple Attribute Decision Making in an Incomplete Information Context

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.In some real-world multiple attribute decision making (MADM) problems, a decision maker can strategically set attribute weights to obtain her/his desired ranking of alternatives, which is called the strategic weight manipulation of the MADM. Sometimes, the attribute weights are given with imprecise or partial information, which is called incomplete information of attribute weights. In this study, we propose the strategic weight manipulation under incomplete information on attributes weights. Then, a series of mixed 0-1 linear programming models (MLPMs) are proposed to derive a strategic weight vector for a desired ranking of an alternative. Finally, a numerical example is used to demonstrate the validity of our models

Are incomplete and self-confident preference relations better in multicriteria decision making? A simulation-based investigation

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Incomplete preference relations and self-confident preference relations have been widely used in multicriteria decision-making problems. However, there is no strong evidence, in the current literature, to validate their use in decision-making. This paper reports on the design of two bounded rationality principle based simulation methods, and detailed experimental results, that aim at providing evidence to answer the following two questions: (1) what are the conditions under which incomplete preference relations are better than complete preference relations?; and (2) can self-confident preference relations improve the quality of decisions? The experimental results show that when the decision-maker is of medium rational degree, incomplete preference relations with a degree of incompleteness between 20% and 40% outperform complete preference relations; otherwise, the opposite happens. Furthermore, in most cases the quality of the decision making improves when using self-confident preference relations instead of incomplete preference relations. The paper ends with the presentation of a sensitivity analysis that contributes to the robustness of the experimental conclusions

Strategic weight manipulation in multiple attribute decision making

In some real-world multiple attribute decision making (MADM) problems, a decision maker can strategically set attribute weights to obtain her/his desired ranking of alternatives, which is called the strategic weight manipulation of the MADM. In this paper, we define the concept of the ranking range of an alternative in the MADM, and propose a series of mixed 0-1 linear programming models (MLPMs) to show the process of designing a strategic attribute weight vector. Then, we reveal the conditions to manipulate a strategic attribute weight based on the ranking range and the proposed MLPMs. Finally, a numerical example with real background is used to demonstrate the validity of our models, and simulation experiments are presented to show the better performance of the ordered weighted averaging operator than the weighted averaging operator in defending against the strategic weight manipulation of the MADM problems

Towards better concordance among contextualized evaluations in FAST-GDM problems

A flexible attribute-set group decision-making (FAST-GDM) problem consists in finding the most suitable option(s) out of the options under consideration, with a general agreement among a heterogeneous group of experts who can focus on different attributes to evaluate those options. An open challenge in FAST-GDM problems is to design consensus reaching processes (CRPs) by which the participants can perform evaluations with a high level of consensus. To address this challenge, a novel algorithm for reaching consensus is proposed in this paper. By means of the algorithm, called FAST-CR-XMIS, a participant can reconsider his/her evaluations after studying the most influential samples that have been shared by others through contextualized evaluations. Since exchanging those samples may make participants’ understandings more like each other, an increase of the level of consensus is expected. A simulation of a CRP where contextualized evaluations of newswire stories are characterized as augmented intuitionistic fuzzy sets (AIFS) shows how FAST-CR-XMIS can increase the level of consensus among the participants during the CRP

A METHODOLOGY FOR THE BIDDERS EVALUATION AND SELECTION IN THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PROCESS BASED ON HETEROGENEOUS INFORMATION AND ADAPTIVE CONSENSUS APPROACHES

The public procurement problem is a special problem of supplier selection that requires strict adherence to the principles of non-discrimination, free competition, and transparency in the contract awarding procedures. It is a very complex multi-criteria problem, which requires the engagement of several decision-makers (experts). The public procurement problem requires the usage of different types of conflicting criteria, the combination of different models (methods and techniques) of decision-making, as well as the modeling of different forms of uncertainty, inaccuracy, and subjectivity of decision-makers, which can represent a rather complex, difficult, and lengthy decision-making process. Therefore, the paper proposes a methodology for improving the tender process that focuses on heterogeneous preference structures of information (preference ordering, utility values, fuzzy (additive) preference relations, multiplicative preference relations, and linguistic preference relations) and an adaptive consensus approach for subjectively determining the weight of criteria and evaluation and selection of alternative bids. The Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method is used for the final ranking of bidders. The proposed methodology enables obtaining a more objective and measurable value during subjective decision-making as well as minimizing the risk of unscrupulous, incompetent, and irresponsible decision-making, which is shown in the given example

A self-management mechanism for non-cooperative behaviors in large-scale group consensus reaching processes

In large-scale group decision making (GDM), non-cooperative behavior in the consensus reaching process (CRP) is not unusual. For example, some individuals might form a small alliance with the aim to refuse attempts to modify their preferences or even to move them against consensus to foster the alliance’s own interests. In this paper, we propose a novel framework based on a self-management mechanism for non-cooperative behaviors in large-scale consensus reaching processes (LCRPs). In the proposed consensus reaching framework, experts are classified into different subgroups using a clustering method, and experts provide their evaluation information, i.e., the multi-criteria mutual evaluation matrices (MCMEMs), regarding the subgroups based on subgroups’ performance (e.g., professional skills, cooperation, and fairness). The subgroups’ weights are dynamically generated from the MCMEMs, which are in turn employed to update the individual experts’ weights. This self-management mechanism in the LCRP allows penalizing the weights of the experts with non-cooperative behaviors. Detailed simulation experiments and comparison analysis are presented to verify the validity of the proposed framework for managing non-cooperative behaviors in the LCRP

Consensus Reaching in Social Network Group Decision Making: Research Paradigms and Challenges

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.In social network group decision making (SNGDM), the consensus reaching process (CRP) is used to help decision makers with social relationships reach consensus. Many CRP studies have been conducted in SNGDM until now. This paper provides a review of CRPs in SNGDM, and as a result it classifies them into two paradigms: (i) the CRP paradigm based on trust relationships, and (ii) the CRP paradigm based on opinion evolution. Furthermore, identified research challenges are put forward to advance this area of research

Ranking range based approach to MADM under incomplete context and its application in venture investment evaluation

In real-world Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) problem, the attribute weights information may be unknown or partially known. Several approaches have been suggested to address this kind of incomplete MADM problem. However, these approaches depend on the determination of attribute weights, and setting different attribute weight vectors may result in different ranking positions of alternatives. To deal with this issue, this paper develops a novel MADM approach: the ranking range based MADM approach. In the novel MADM approach, the minimum and maximum ranking positions of every alternative are generated using several optimization models, and the average ranking position of every alternative is produced applying the Monte Carlo simulation method. Then, the minimum, maximum and average ranking positions of the alternative are integrated into a new ranking position of the alternative. This novel approach is capable of dealing with venture investment evaluation problems. However, in the venture investment evaluation process, decision makers will present different risk attitudes. To deal with this issue, two ranking range based MADM approaches with risk attitudes are further designed. A case study and a simulation experiment are presented to show the validity of the proposal