Modelling Preference Relaxation in e-Commerce

In multi-attribute decision choice scenarios, although decision-makers desire access to very large sets of possible choice options (alternatives), their cognitive resources are limited. They may simply be unable to process vast amounts of information available and to make a satisfactory decision. Interactive decision aids, are a potential solution to this problem. Decision aids that filter a very large set of alternatives based on initial decision-maker preferences may eliminate potentially good alternatives early in the decision process, lead to a poor quality consideration set, and possibly negatively impact decision quality. The decision aid we propose here modifies the filtration criteria provide and thus, allows decision makers to reconsider selected alternatives they initially eliminated. We propose a model of such a decision aid, give an overview of its different configurations, and provide an illustrative example of use in the apartment selection decision problem. We also hypothesize about the impact of the proposed decision aid on decision quality and consideration set size and quality. We conclude the paper with an overview of potential directions for future research and a discussion of benefits of application of preference relaxation.