The conversion of cost and benefit criteria in the TOPSIS method

Abstract

Multiple attribute decision making (MADM) models involve both cost and benefit criteria. However, it is convenient to unify criteria type; this means to convert the cost criteria into benefit criteria or vice versa. There are several procedures for criteria type conversion. Unfortunately, these procedures are usually outside of the MADM methods’ algorithms and some combinations of criteria type conversion method and the MADM method provide incorrect results. We focus on the method ‘technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution’ (TOPSIS method) and the subtraction-based conversion procedure, which converts criterion type using the differences between criterion values and the maximum value in the criterion column. We find that this widely used procedure for criteria conversion can completely distort the results of the analysis. In this paper, we suggest a new subtraction-based conversion procedure that is possible to combine with the TOPSIS method and receive correct results.