Buyer preferences for durum wheat: a stated preference approach

The central issue addressed in this paper is the attributes preferred by a sample of buyers of durum wheat grown in Canada. Primary emphasis is the value placed on certain visual and nonvisual attributes by US buyers of durum wheat. In addition, a source variable in the analysis is used to test preferences of US buyers for US-source compared to Canadian-source durum. The latter is a method to test whether durum millers in the US believe that Canadian durum is a superior product, a view widely-held in the Canadian grain trade.Results indicate that higher bushel weight has a positive effect on purchase probability, and appears to be more important to buyers’ purchasing decision than protein content, amylase content, or the choice between no. 1 and no. 2 grade. US millers in the study are shown either a) to prefer US-grown durum over that from Canada, or b) to dislike the single desk seller arrangements involved in purchasing Canadian durum. It appears that US managers who grow or market durum wheat have a competitive edge over their Canadian competitors when marketing to US-based durum users.     

模糊随机风险偏好下的证券投资组合选择方法

在投资者风险偏好具有随机性和模糊性且效用函数具有线性可加性的假设条件下,建立 了相应的证券投资组合选择方法. 在特定的效用函数下该方法只涉及一元不等式和一元积分 的计算,具有简单实用的特点. 应该指出的是,该方法不同于传统的证券组合选择方法,它是 建立在Risto L 等提出的随机多目标可接受分析———SMAA 思想的基础上的.     

Multiplicative consistency analysis for interval fuzzy preference relations: A comparative study

To examine the multiplicative consistency of interval fuzzy preference relations (IFPRs), this paper first analyzes the limitations associated with the previous consistency concepts. Accordingly, a new consistency concept is defined that is an extension of the crisp case and overcomes limitations in the previous concepts. Next, a linear programming model to judge the consistency of IFPRs is constructed, and an approach to derive multiplicative consistent IFPRs is introduced. Furthermore, goal-programming models to determine missing values in an incomplete IFPR are constructed that have the highest consistent level with respect to known values. Moreover, a multiplicative consistency and consensus based method for group decision making with IFPRs is developed that can address incomplete and inconsistent cases. Finally, two practical decision-making problems are offered to demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the new method, and an analysis of a numerical and theoretical comparison with several related methods is performed.     

Robust Ordinal Regression and Stochastic Multiobjective Acceptability Analysis in multiple criteria hierarchy process for the Choquet integral preference model

The paper deals with two important issues of Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding: interaction between criteria and hierarchical structure of criteria. To handle interactions, we apply the Choquet integral as a preference model, and to handle the hierarchy of criteria, we apply the recently proposed methodology called Multiple Criteria Hierarchy Process. In addition to dealing with the above issues, we suppose that the preference information provided by the Decision Maker is indirect and has the form of pairwise comparisons of criteria with respect to their importance and pairwise preference comparisons of some pairs of alternatives with respect to some criteria. In consequence, many instances of the Choquet integral are usually compatible with this preference information. These instances are identified and exploited by Robust Ordinal Regression and Stochastic Multiobjective Acceptability Analysis. To illustrate the whole approach, we show its application to a real world decision problem concerning the ranking of universities for a hypothetical Decision Maker.     

摩擦市场上最优投资组合的一种数值解法

在实际的证券交易市场上存在着诸如交易费用、税收等摩擦.投资者在交易的过程中,不可避免的要受到市场摩擦的影响.作者以投资者为了获取最大的投资效用为目标函数,建立了摩擦市场上最优投资组合问题的数学模型,并提出一种适用于此类模型求解的内点算法,同时也给出了算法的具体实现步骤和一个具体的算例.     

An extension of the Electre I method for group decision-making under a fuzzy environment

Many real-world decision problems involve conflicting systems of criteria, uncertainty and imprecise information. Some also involve a group of decision makers (DMs) where a reduction of different individual preferences on a given set to a single collective preference is required. Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a widely used decision methodology that can improve the quality of group multiple criteria decisions by making the process more explicit, rational and efficient. One family of MCDA models uses what is known as “outranking relations” to rank a set of actions. The Electre method and its derivatives are prominent outranking methods in MCDA. In this study, we propose an alternative fuzzy outranking method by extending the Electre I method to take into account the uncertain, imprecise and linguistic assessments provided by a group of DMs. The contribution of this paper is fivefold: (1) we address the gap in the Electre literature for problems involving conflicting systems of criteria, uncertainty and imprecise information; (2) we extend the Electre I method to take into account the uncertain, imprecise and linguistic assessments; (3) we define outranking relations by pairwise comparisons and use decision graphs to determine which action is preferable, incomparable or indifferent in the fuzzy environment; (4) we show that contrary to the TOPSIS rankings, the Electre approach reveals more useful information including the incomparability among the actions; and (5) we provide a numerical example to elucidate the details of the proposed method.     

Causal factor relations of supply chain competitiveness via fuzzy DEMATEL method for Thai automotive industry

Abstract

The automotive industry is complex and global. An automotive supply chain involves multiple manufacturers and service providers in different parts of the chain across different countries. Diffusion of the global production system creates both opportunities and challenges for the supply chain itself as well as production base countries. Thailand is a production base for over 15 automotive brands. The industry contributes significantly to the Thai economy and employs approximately half a million people. To address competitiveness of the Thai automotive industry, its supply chain is studied in this paper. Ten factors affecting the competitiveness of the Thai automotive supply chain are analysed through the fuzzy DEMATEL method. The method forms a structural model that categorises the causal or effect roles of the factors, and the degree at which they impact the supply chain. This study focuses on Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturers of the supply chain. The results reveal that there are three common causal factors and four common effects in both tiers. The other four factors play different roles in different tiers. Managerial implications relating to these factors are also discussed and certain recommendations proposed in order to enhance the competitiveness of the Thai automotive supply chain.