Group Decision Making with Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Multiplicative Linguistic Preference Relations

To express the asymmetrically uncertain preferred and non-preferred qualitative judgments of decision makers, this paper introduces interval-valued intuitionistic multiplicative linguistic variables (IVIMLVs). To show their application in decision making, a ranking method is first offered. Then, we introduce IVIMLVs for preference relations and propose interval-valued intuitionistic multiplicative linguistic preference relations (IVIMLPRs). To obtain the ranking reasonably, a consistency definition for IVIMLPRs is presented. A mathematical optimization model for judging the consistency of IVIMLPRs based on the new concept is constructed. To address two general cases: incompleteness and inconsistency, mathematical optimization models for ascertaining unknown values in incomplete IVIMLPRs and deriving completely consistent IVIMLPRs from inconsistent ones are built, respectively. For group decision making, a consensus index is defined to measure the consensus achieved among the decision makers’ preferences. If the consensus is not enough, a mathematical optimization model for improving the consensus level is established. Furthermore, a linear optimization model for determining the weights of the decision makers based on the consensus analysis is constructed. Finally, a group decision-making method with IVIMLPRs based on consistency and consensus analysis is offered, and its application on selecting supply chain cooperative partners is offered.