Using a Two-Person Zero-Sum Game to Solve a Decision-Making Problem

Abstract

This study proposes a game-theoretic approach to solve a multiobjective decision-making problem. The essence of the method is that a normalized decision matrix can be considered as a payoff matrix for some zero-sum matrix game, in which the first player chooses an alternative and the second player chooses a criterion. Herein, the solution in mixed strategies of this game is used to construct a weighted sum of the primary criteria that leads to a solution of the primary multiobjective decision-making problem. The proposed method leads to a notionally objective weighting method for multiobjective decision-making and provides “true weights” even in the absence of preliminary subjective evaluations. The proposed new method has a simple application. It can be applied to decision-making problems with any number of alternatives/criteria, and its practical realization is limited only by the capabilities of the solver of the linear programming problem formulated to solve the corresponding zero-sum game. Moreover, as observed from the solutions of the illustrative examples, the results obtained with the proposed method are quite appropriate and competitive.