Novel Multi-criteria Decision-making Approaches Based on Hesitant Fuzzy Sets and Prospect Theory

Abstract

Hesitant fuzzy sets (HFSs), an extension of fuzzy sets, are considered to be useful in solving decision making problems where decision makers are unable to choose between several values when expressing their preferences. The purpose of this paper is to develop two hesitant fuzzy multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods based on prospect theory (PT). First, the novel component-wise ordering method for two hesitant fuzzy numbers (HFNs) is defined; however, this method does not consider the length of the two HFNs. Second, by utilizing the directed Hausdorff distance between two imprecise point sets, the generalized hesitant Hausdorff distance is developed, which overcomes the shortcomings of the existing distance measures. Third, based on the proposed comparison method and distance, as well as PT, the extended TODIM and Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE) approaches are developed in order to solve MCDM problems with hesitant fuzzy information. Finally, a practical example is provided to illustrate the pragmatism and effectiveness of the proposed approaches. Sensitivity and comparison analyses are also conducted using the same example. The findings indicate that the proposed methods do not require complicated computation procedures, yet still yield a reasonable and credible solution.