A loss function approach to group preference aggregation in the AHP

The Analytic Hierarchy Process is a useful method in aggregating group preference. However, judgments are frequently inconsistent, and, in reality, pairwise comparison matrices rarely satisfy the inconsistency criterion. In this situation, we suggest a new method. called a loss function approach, that uses inconsistency ratio as the group evaluation quality. For this method in detail, we introduce Taguchi's loss function. We also develop an evaluation reliability function to derive group weight. Finally, we provide a step-by-step numerical example of a loss function approach. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.