A concise consensus support model for group decision making with reciprocal preference relations based on deviation measures

Supporting the process of consensus building has become a major research field in group decision making (GDM). The purpose of this paper is to present a consistency consensus based decision support model for GDM based on reciprocal preference relations. Inspired by the concept of a deviation measure between two matrices, an individual consistency index and a group consensus index are presented. In the support model, a consistency control process is designed to make an inconsistent reciprocal preference relation one of acceptable consistency. To achieve a predefined consensus level, an interactive consensus reaching process is provided where the group reciprocal preference relation is seen as a reference when experts change their preferences. Theoretical foundations are then established for the proposed model. The proposed model revises the original information in a simple and straightforward gradual way. In the consensus process, the individual rationality level in terms of consistency is maintained. Two examples are examined to demonstrate the model in practical problems. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.