Applying consistent fuzzy preference relations to partnership selection

Partnership selection has been important to the formation of a virtual enterprise. Based on the fuzzy preference programming (FPP) method proposed by Mikhailov [Fuzzy analytical approach to partnership selection in formation of virtual enterprises. Omega 2002;30:393–401], this investigation presents a consistent fuzzy preference relations method to select partners. Human thoughts are full of uncertainty, so the decision-makers cannot make exact pairwise comparisons. The FPP method solves this problem using an interval value instead of Saaty's 1–9 scale. In this study, the FPP method is reviewed, and then the consistent fuzzy preference relations method is elucidated. Finally, the presented method is applied to the example addressed by Mikhailov [Fuzzy analytical approach to partnership selection in formation of virtual enterprises. Omega 2002;30:393–401]. This study reveals that the proposed method yields consistent decision rankings from only n-1n-1 pairwise comparisons—the same number as in Mikhailov's research. Briefly, the presented consistent fuzzy preference relations method is an easy and practical way to provide rankings of partnership in making decision.