A collective choice method based on individual preferences relational systems (p.r.s.)

• Published in: European journal of operational research 2007-03, Vol.177 (3), p.1549-1565
• Main Authors: Jabeur, Khaled, Martel, Jean-Marc
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Binary relations; Consensus; Decision making; Decision-making problematic; Distance measure; Exploitation; Kernel; Preference aggregation; Preferences; Preferences relational system; Quasi-kernel; Studies
• ISSN: 0377-2217; 1872-6860
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejor.2005.10.028

In group decision-making literature, several procedures are proposed in order to establish a collective preference from the different individual ones. The majority of these procedures, however, reveal that the individual preferences are always expressed in total pre-orders (or ranking). Indeed, until now very few have considered individual preferences which are expressed in partial pre-orders or, more generally, in preferences relational systems (p.r.s.). Moreover, many of these procedures generate collective preferences which are expressed in total pre-orders (ranking decision-making problematic). The efforts reported in the literature to develop procedures which treat other decision-making problematics—such as choice problematic—remain insufficient. In this paper, we propose a method which would determine from individual p.r.s. at least one collective subset containing the “best” alternatives. Each of these collective subsets results from the exploitation—according to the choice problematic—of a collective p.r.s. obtained from the aggregation of the individual p.r.s. Furthermore, each collective p.r.s. has two main characteristics: (i) it is at a minimum distance from all individual p.r.s. and (ii) it takes into account the members’ relative importance.