Automatic consensus models to balance consensus cost, consistency level and consensus degree with attitudinal trust mechanism

Abstract

In light of the inevitable consensus costs incurred by preference adjustments of decision makers during the consensus reaching process (CRP), multiple minimum cost driven consensus models have been developed, which either prioritize the attainment of a high consensus degree, or focus on the consistency maintenance of individual opinions. However, the strategic equilibrium of consensus cost, consistency level and consensus degree, which shapes the cogency of the decision-making outcome, becomes one of the main challenges which should be overcome in the CRP. To address this scenario, this study proposes three novel trust attitude-based consensus models to balance these three factors. These consensus models are implemented through optimization models, tailored to distinct primary objectives, resulting in outputs that encompass attitudinal parameters to realize the balance of consensus cost, consistency level and consensus degree. Correspondingly, the proposed consensus models have been applied to solve severe air pollution emergency management decision problems. Comparative analysis with existing works is provided to show the validity of the proposed models.