Preference relation approach for obtaining OWA operators weights

Actual result of aggregation performed by an ordered weighted averaging (OWA) operator heavily depends upon the weighting vector used. A number of approaches for obtaining the associated weights have been suggested in the academic literature. In this paper, we present a method for determining the OWA weights when (1) the preferences of some subset of alternatives over other subset of alternatives are specified in a holistic manner across all the criteria, and (2) the consequences (criteria values) are specified in one of three different formats: precise numerical values, intervals and fuzzy numbers. The OWA weights are to be estimated in the direction of minimizing deviations from the OWA weights implied by the preference relations, thus as consistent as possible with a priori preference relations. 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.