Hesitant fuzzy sets (HFSs) are widely applied in pattern recognition, classification, clustering, and multiple attribute decision making. In order to get more accurate decision results, the order relation of HFSs is particularly important. In this paper, some defects of the existing order relations for HFSs are discussed. In order to solve these problems, by employing a distance measure and the TOPSIS method, we propose a new order relation extraction method based on a new additive consistency fuzzy preference relation for hesitant fuzzy elements (HFEs). Then, the proposed additive consistency fuzzy preference relation is applied to integrate group decision information. In multi-attribute group decision making (MAGDM), it is particularly important to ensure the consensus of the decision-makers (DMs), and the consistency of the decision process is the precondition for DMs to reach consensus. The proposed method can maintain the consistency of the decision process for MAGDM under hesitant fuzzy environments, so as to get the consensus of DMs, besides, it can overcome the limitations of the existing order relations for HFSs. At the end of this paper, a numerical example is used to illustrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the new approach, and some comparative analyses are given. The obtained results confirm the theoretical and numerical analyses and emphasize the advantages, which can ensure the consistency of the whole decision process and avoid the original decision information change and loss of the proposed method, so as to be more in line with the actual situation.
Investigating rank reversal in reciprocal fuzzy preference relation based on additive consistency: Causes and solutions