scholarly journals So how to make group decisions? Arrow's impossibility theorem 70 years after

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hung T. Nguyen ◽  
Olga Kosheleva ◽  
Vladik Kreinovich

PurposeIn 1951, Kenneth Arrow proved that it is not possible to have a group decision-making procedure that satisfies reasonable requirements like fairness. From the theoretical viewpoint, this is a great result – well-deserving the Nobel Prize that was awarded to Professor Arrow. However, from the practical viewpoint, the question remains – so how should we make group decisions? A usual way to solve this problem is to provide some reasonable heuristic ideas, but the problem is that different seemingly reasonable idea often lead to different group decision – this is known, e.g. for different voting schemes.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper we analyze this problem from the viewpoint of decision theory, the basic theory underlying all our activities – including economic ones.FindingsWe show how from the first-principles decision theory, we can extract explicit recommendations for group decision making.Originality/valueMost of the resulting recommendations have been proposed earlier. The main novelty of this paper is that it provides a unified coherent narrative that leads from the fundamental first principles to practical recommendations.

Kybernetes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (12) ◽  
pp. 2919-2945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weimin Ma ◽  
Wenjing Lei ◽  
Bingzhen Sun

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a three-way group decision-making approach to address the selection of green supplier, by extending decision-theoretic rough set (DTRS) into hesitant fuzzy linguistic (HFL) environment, considering the flexible evaluation expression format of HFL term set (HFLTS) and the idea of minimum expected risk in DTRS. Design/methodology/approach Specifically, the authors first present the calculation method of the conditional probability and discuss the loss functions of DTRS with HFL element (HFLE), along with some associated properties being investigated in detail. Further, three-way group decisions rules can be deduced, followed by the cost of every green supplier candidate. Thus, based on these discussions, a novel green supplier selection DTRS model that combines multi-criteria group decision-making (MCGDM) and HFLTS is designed. Findings A numerical example of green supplier selection, the comparative analysis and associated discussions are conducted to illustrate the applicability and novelty of the presented model. Practical implications The selection of green supplier has played a critically strategic role in sustainable enterprise development due to continuous environmental concerns. This paper offers an insight for companies to select green supplier selection from the perspective of three-way group decisions. Originality/value This paper uses three-way decisions to address green supplier selection in the HFL context, which is considered as a MCGDM issue.


2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 1649-1668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petru Lucian Curseu ◽  
Sandra G. L. Schruijer ◽  
Oana Catalina Fodor

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of collaborative and consultative decision rules on groups’ sensitivity to framing effect (FE) and escalation of commitment (EOC). Design/methodology/approach – In an experimental study (using a sample of 233 professionals with project management experience), the authors test the effects of collaborative and consultative decision rules on groups’ sensitivity to EOC and FE. The authors use four group decision-making tasks to evaluate decision consistency across gain/loss framed decision situations and six decision tasks to evaluate EOC for money as well as time as resources previously invested in the initial decisions. Findings – The results show that the collaborative decision rule increases sensitivity to EOC when financial resources are involved and decreases sensitivity to EOC when time is of essence. Moreover, the authors show that the collaborative decision rule decreases sensitivity to FE in group decision making. Research limitations/implications – The results have important implications for group rationality as an emergent group level competence by extending the insights concerning the impact of decision rules on emergent group level cognitive competencies. Due to the experimental nature of the design, the authors can probe the causal relations between the investigated variables, yet the authors cannot generalize the results to other settings. Practical implications – Managers can use the insights of this study in order to optimize the functioning of decision-making groups and to reduce their sensitivity to FEs and EOC. Originality/value – The study extends the research on group rationality and it is one of the few experimental attempts used to understand the role of decision rules on emergent group level rationality.


Author(s):  
Rajali Maharjan ◽  
Shinya Hanaoka

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reveal the importance of the order of establishment of temporary logistics hubs (TLHs) when resources (mobile storage units used as TLHs) are limited and to present the development and implementation of a methodology that determines the order of establishment of TLHs to support post-disaster decision making. Design/methodology/approach It employed a decision support system that considers multiple decision makers and subjective attributes, while also addressing the impreciseness inherent in post-disaster decision making for ordering the establishment of TLHs. To do so, an optimization model was combined with a fuzzy multi-attribute group decision making approach. A numerical illustration was performed using data from the April 2015 Nepal Earthquake. Findings The results showed the location and order of establishment of TLHs, and demonstrated the impact of decision makers’ opinions on the overall ordering. Research limitations/implications The study does not discuss the uncertain nature of the location problem and the potential need for relocation of TLHs. Practical implications This methodology offers managerial insights for post-disaster decision making when resources are limited and their effective utilization is vital. The results highlight the importance of considering the opinions of multiple actors/decision makers to enable coordination and avoid complication between the growing numbers of humanitarian responders during disaster response. Originality/value This study introduces the concept of the order of establishment of TLHs and demonstrates its importance when resources are limited. It develops and implements a methodology determining the order of establishment of TLHs to support post-disaster decision making.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dujun Zhai ◽  
Minyue Jin ◽  
Jennifer Shang ◽  
Chenfeng Ji

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply data envelopment analysis (DEA) techniques to the collective decision-making environment to appraise two-stage production process under different decision preferences. Design/methodology/approach The authors propose a novel multi-criteria group decision-making approach that uses consensus-strategic data envelopment analysis (CSDEA) to appraise two-stage production process under two different decision strategies, which are efficiency- and fairness-based group decision preferences. Findings The authors find that the proposed CSDEA model evaluates the performance of the decision-making units (DMUs) not by diminishing other competitors but rather based on group interests of the entire decision set. Originality/value The authors extend Li’s two-stage model to cases that consider both intermediate inputs and outputs. The authors address the issue of incorporating collective managerial strategy into multi-criteria group decision-making and propose a novel CSDEA model that considers not only the individual-level performance of a DMU but also the group-level or collective decision strategies.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1767-1783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting-Cheng Chang ◽  
Hui Wang

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to select the best scaling coefficient during the quantitative-qualitative conversion. Design/methodology/approach – Cloud model can describe the qualitative concept of randomness and fuzziness, achieve uncertain transition between qualitative and quantitative in the field of multi-criteria group decision and has been receiving widespread attention. This paper discusses scale conversion issues of the cloud model when evaluating qualitative information. In order to improve the accuracy of the evaluation on multi-attribute decision problems based on uncertainty of natural linguistic information, this paper proposes a method of self-testing cloud model based on a composite scale (with the exponential scale and the scale as a basis). Findings – Through experimental verification results show that under composite scale, the best suitable selection of can effectively improve the accuracy and reliability of decision results. Originality/value – This research presents a new approach to determine the suitable value for coefficient based on uncertain knowledge of natural multi-criteria group decision making, and gives concrete steps and examples. This method has positive significance to improve the quality of qualitative and quantitative conversion based on cloud model.


2008 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 283-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pi-Yueh Cheng ◽  
Wen-Bin Chiou

Prospect theory proposes that framing effects result in a preference for risk-averse choices in gain situations and risk-seeking choices in loss situations. However, in group polarization situations, groups show a pronounced tendency to shift toward more extreme positions than those they initially held. Whether framing effects in group decision making are more prominent as a result of the group-polarization effect was examined. Purposive sampling of 120 college students (57 men, 63 women; M age = 20.1 yr., SD = 0.9) allowed assessment of relative preference between cautious and risky choices in individual and group decisions. Findings indicated that both group polarization and framing effects occur in investment decisions. More importantly, group decisions in a gain situation appear to be more cautious, i.e., risk averse, than individual decisions, whereas group decisions in the loss situation appear to be more risky than individual decisions. Thus, group decision making may expand framing effects when it comes to investment choices through group polarization.


1988 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-32
Author(s):  
D. J. De Waal

Although Bayes’ theorem was published in 1764, it is only recently that Bayesian procedures were used in practice in statistical analyses. Many developments have taken place and are still taking place in the areas of decision theory and group decision making. Two aspects, namely that of estimation and tests of hypotheses, will be looked into. This is the area of statistical inference mainly concerned with Mathematical Statistics.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shekhar Shukla ◽  
Ashish Dubey

PurposeQuantitative objective studies on the problem of celebrity selection are lacking. Furthermore, existing research does not recognize the group decision-making nature and the possibility of customer involvement in celebrity or influencer selection for social media marketing. This study conceptualizes celebrity selection as a multi-attribute group decision-making problem while deriving the final ranking of celebrities/influencers using interactive and flexible criteria based on the value tradeoff approach. The article thus proposes and demonstrates a quantitative objective method of celebrity selection for a brand or campaign in an interactive manner incorporating customer's preferences as well.Design/methodology/approachEach decision-maker's preferences for celebrity selection criteria are objectively captured and converted into an overall group preference using a modified generalized fuzzy evaluation method (MGFEM). The final ranking of celebrities is then derived from an interactive and criteria-based value tradeoff approach using the flexible and interactive tradeoff method.FindingsThe approach gives a different ranking of celebrities for two campaigns based on group members' perceived importance of the selection criteria in different scenarios. This group includes decision-makers (DMs) from the brand, marketing communication agency and brand's customers. Further, each group member has an almost equal say in the decision-making based on fuzzy evaluation and an interactive and flexible value tradeoff approach to celebrity selection for receiving a rank order.Research limitations/implicationsThe approach uses secondary data on celebrities and hypothetical scenarios. Comparison with other methods is difficult, as no other study proposes a multi-criteria group decision-making approach to celebrity selection especially in a social media context.Practical implicationsThis approach can help DMs make more informed, objective and effective decisions on celebrity selection for their brands or campaigns. It recognizes that there are multiple stakeholders, including the end customers, each of whose views is objectively considered in the aspects of group decision-making through a fuzzy evaluation method. Further, this study provides a selection mechanism for a given context of endorsement by objectively and interactively encapsulating stakeholder preferences.Originality/valueThis robust and holistic approach to celebrity selection can help DMs objectively make consensual decisions with partial or complete information. This quantitative approach contributes to the literature on selection mechanisms of influencers, celebrities, social media opinion leaders etc. by providing a methodological aid that encompasses aspects of interactive group decision-making for a given context. Moreover, this method is useful to DMs and stakeholders in understanding and incorporating the effect of nature or context of the brand and the campaign type in the selection of a celebrity or an influencer.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Behzad Ghasemi ◽  
Changiz Valmohammadi

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify and prioritize the critical success factors (CSFs) of knowledge management (KM) implementation through a novel hybrid model, namely, Fuzzy Delphi method (FDM), interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and revised Simos, which is one of group decision-making (GDM) approaches. Design/methodology/approach The CSFs of KM implementation were identified through a systematic literature review. FDM was adopted to determine the CSFs in the Iranian oil industry. Then, a novel hybrid model consisting of ISM and revised Simos techniques were used to classify and prioritize the CSFs. Findings The obtained results suggest that there are 13 CSFs of KM implementation. The result of ISM shows that the CSFs of KM implementation were classified into five levels. The result of revised Simos reveals that the “human resources management” obtained the highest priority and “leadership commitment and support” and “intellectual capital” ranked second and third, respectively. Research limitations/implications As this research was performed in the Iranian oil industry, caution should be taken regarding the generalizability of the obtained results. Practical implications The top managers of the surveyed companies could get acquainted with CSFs of KM implementation in their organization and use a GDM technique that has various advantages to solve the relevant problems. Originality/value This paper provides a twofold contribution to expand KM and GDM literature and to the best knowledge of the authors, it is a novel hybrid GDM model of its kind.


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