A Novel Similarity-Based Multi-Attribute Group Decision-Making Method in a Probabilistic Hesitant Fuzzy Environment

Probabilistic hesitant fuzzy sets (PHFSs), a significant expansion of hesitant fuzzy sets (HFSs), were suggested and intensively explored in order to address the problem of missing preference information. Based on previous research on PHFS, we discovered that there are still unresolved issues in the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yubo Hu, Zhiqiang Pang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2022-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9921222/
_version_ 1828338294015918080
author Yubo Hu
Zhiqiang Pang
author_facet Yubo Hu
Zhiqiang Pang
author_sort Yubo Hu
collection DOAJ
description Probabilistic hesitant fuzzy sets (PHFSs), a significant expansion of hesitant fuzzy sets (HFSs), were suggested and intensively explored in order to address the problem of missing preference information. Based on previous research on PHFS, we discovered that there are still unresolved issues in the probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environment, such as (i) the similarity between probabilistic hesitant fuzzy elements (PHFEs) has not been studied, (ii) in the study of entropy, the uncertainty resulting from the inner hesitancy of decision makers (DMs) has been neglected; in addition, DMs may obtain different decision results by using different entropy formulas; (iii) the relationship between the similarity and entropy of PHFE has not been researched, and (iv) there is no multi-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) method that uses similarity in a probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environment. In order to address the aforementioned issues, in this study, we attempt to incorporate similarity into a probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environment and offer a novel similarity-based MAGDM method. First, we define the similarity in probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environments and present some similarity formulas. Furthermore, considering the limitations of entropy presented by other researchers, we redefine the entropy of PHFEs and discuss the relationship between similarity and entropy in probabilistic hesitant fuzzy settings for the first time. Based on the similarity measure and entropy, we offer a new method for MAGDM with unknown attribute weights, which can be effectively applied to the assessment of small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) credit risk. Finally, we demonstrated the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed decision-making process.
first_indexed 2024-04-13T22:26:41Z
format Article
id doaj.art-4e148dbbbd0d4d81b280fb9f1ecdb6ed
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2169-3536
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-13T22:26:41Z
publishDate 2022-01-01
publisher IEEE
record_format Article
series IEEE Access
spelling doaj.art-4e148dbbbd0d4d81b280fb9f1ecdb6ed2022-12-22T02:27:03ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362022-01-011011041011042510.1109/ACCESS.2022.32152329921222A Novel Similarity-Based Multi-Attribute Group Decision-Making Method in a Probabilistic Hesitant Fuzzy EnvironmentYubo Hu0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7354-8745Zhiqiang Pang1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2760-9636School of Statistics, Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics, Lanzhou, ChinaSchool of Statistics, Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics, Lanzhou, ChinaProbabilistic hesitant fuzzy sets (PHFSs), a significant expansion of hesitant fuzzy sets (HFSs), were suggested and intensively explored in order to address the problem of missing preference information. Based on previous research on PHFS, we discovered that there are still unresolved issues in the probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environment, such as (i) the similarity between probabilistic hesitant fuzzy elements (PHFEs) has not been studied, (ii) in the study of entropy, the uncertainty resulting from the inner hesitancy of decision makers (DMs) has been neglected; in addition, DMs may obtain different decision results by using different entropy formulas; (iii) the relationship between the similarity and entropy of PHFE has not been researched, and (iv) there is no multi-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) method that uses similarity in a probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environment. In order to address the aforementioned issues, in this study, we attempt to incorporate similarity into a probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environment and offer a novel similarity-based MAGDM method. First, we define the similarity in probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environments and present some similarity formulas. Furthermore, considering the limitations of entropy presented by other researchers, we redefine the entropy of PHFEs and discuss the relationship between similarity and entropy in probabilistic hesitant fuzzy settings for the first time. Based on the similarity measure and entropy, we offer a new method for MAGDM with unknown attribute weights, which can be effectively applied to the assessment of small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) credit risk. Finally, we demonstrated the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed decision-making process.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9921222/Probabilistic hesitant fuzzy setsimilarityentropymulti-criteria decision-making
spellingShingle Yubo Hu
Zhiqiang Pang
A Novel Similarity-Based Multi-Attribute Group Decision-Making Method in a Probabilistic Hesitant Fuzzy Environment
IEEE Access
Probabilistic hesitant fuzzy set
similarity
entropy
multi-criteria decision-making
title A Novel Similarity-Based Multi-Attribute Group Decision-Making Method in a Probabilistic Hesitant Fuzzy Environment
title_full A Novel Similarity-Based Multi-Attribute Group Decision-Making Method in a Probabilistic Hesitant Fuzzy Environment
title_fullStr A Novel Similarity-Based Multi-Attribute Group Decision-Making Method in a Probabilistic Hesitant Fuzzy Environment
title_full_unstemmed A Novel Similarity-Based Multi-Attribute Group Decision-Making Method in a Probabilistic Hesitant Fuzzy Environment
title_short A Novel Similarity-Based Multi-Attribute Group Decision-Making Method in a Probabilistic Hesitant Fuzzy Environment
title_sort novel similarity based multi attribute group decision making method in a probabilistic hesitant fuzzy environment
topic Probabilistic hesitant fuzzy set
similarity
entropy
multi-criteria decision-making
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9921222/
work_keys_str_mv AT yubohu anovelsimilaritybasedmultiattributegroupdecisionmakingmethodinaprobabilistichesitantfuzzyenvironment
AT zhiqiangpang anovelsimilaritybasedmultiattributegroupdecisionmakingmethodinaprobabilistichesitantfuzzyenvironment
AT yubohu novelsimilaritybasedmultiattributegroupdecisionmakingmethodinaprobabilistichesitantfuzzyenvironment
AT zhiqiangpang novelsimilaritybasedmultiattributegroupdecisionmakingmethodinaprobabilistichesitantfuzzyenvironment