Research on four kinds of uncertain preference information aggregation approach in group decision making

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to aggregate different preference information in group decision‐making process such as interval preference order, interval utility value, interval number reciprocal comparison matrix, and interval number complementary comparison matrix.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the consistency definitions of four kinds of uncertain preference information are defined. Then, the upper‐ and low errors are introduced to solve the inconsistent decision‐making case. Following that, the weight model for each uncertain preference is proposed, respectively.FindingsThe aggregation approach based on minimal group deviation errors is suggested in order to obtain the utmost consistent opinion. In addition, the consistency judgment level and consistency extent are defined owing to the aggregation result.Research limitations/implicationsThe calculation scale is large, if many decision makers will attend group decision‐making process.Practical implicationsA very useful approach for aggregation of the different preference in group decision‐making case.Originality/valueBecause of differences in knowledge structure, judgment level, and individual preference, decision makers express their judgment preferences via differently structured decision‐making processes. Owing to the complexity and uncertainty of decision‐making problems and the fuzziness of human thought, it is unrealistic to depict complex problems in the certain preference style. For decision‐making preference structures, group decision‐making aggregation approaches include the aggregation on the same kind of preference structure and the different kinds of preference structures. The study on the aggregation of the same kind of preference structure has received a deal of attention, but study into the aggregation of the different kinds of uncertainty preference structures is still a new field.