Fuzzy credibility relation method for multiple criteria decision-making problems

This paper dears with the problem of ranking alternatives under multiple criteria. A fuzzy credibility relation (FCR) method is proposed. Owing to vague concepts represented in decision data, in this study the rating of each alternative and the weight of each criterion are expressed in fuzzy numbers. Then we define the concordance, discordance, and support indices. By aggregating the concordance index and support index, a fuzzy credibility relation is calculated to represent the intensity of the preferences of one alternative over another. Finally, according to the fuzzy credibility relation, the ranking order of all alternatives can be determined. A numerical example is solved to highlight the procedure of the FCR method at the end of this paper. (C) Elsevier Science Inc. 1997.