Minimum cost consensus model with variable cost for multi-criteria large-scale group decision-making considering the tolerance of decision-makers

Abstract

The objective of multicriteria large-scale group decision-making (LSGDM) is to obtain a decision result that gains acceptance from the majority of decision-makers (DMs). The consensus reaching process (CRP) plays a crucial role in guiding DMs to continuously adjust their opinions through feedback adjustment mechanisms to form a widely accepted decision result. In practical decision-making, adjusting opinions incurs costs and involves limited resources. Simultaneously, DMs have tolerance for modifying their opinions. To this end, this paper proposes a minimum cost consensus model (MCCM) with variable cost to reach consensus efficiently within limited resources and DMs’ tolerance. Firstly, a method to measure the combined similarity among DMs is proposed. Then, an extended local fitness maximization (ELFM) algorithm suitable for multicriteria LSGDM problems is proposed for clustering. Furthermore, an objective method of determining the unit adjustment costs for DMs in the MCCM is provided. For the CRP that considers the tolerance of DMs, this paper introduces the MCCM with variable cost to obtain the adjustment opinions of DMs. During the selection process, we utilize the stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis (SMAA) method to evaluate alternatives and selection. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed method is verified through an illustrative example, and its advantages are emphasized through comparative analysis.