Tri-level decision-making with multiple followers: Model, algorithm and case study

Han, J; Lu, J; Hu, Y; Zhang, G

Tri-level decision-making with multiple followers: Model, algorithm and case study

Han, J Lu, J

Hu, Y Zhang, G

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Information Sciences, 2015, 311 pp. 182 - 204
Issue Date:: 2015-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Han, J	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Lu, J https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0690-4732	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Hu, Y	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Zhang, G https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3960-0583	en_US
dc.date.available	2020-05-25T19:06:03Z
dc.date.issued	2015-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Information Sciences, 2015, 311 pp. 182 - 204	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0020-0255	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/37156
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35461
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/37155
dc.description.abstract	© 2015 Elsevier Inc. Tri-level decision-making arises to address compromises among interacting decision entities distributed throughout a three-level hierarchy; these entities are respectively termed the top-level leader, the middle-level follower and the bottom-level follower. This study considers an uncooperative situation where multiple followers at the same (middle or bottom) level make their individual decisions independently but consider the decision results of their counterparts as references through information exchanged among themselves. This situation is called a reference-based uncooperative multi-follower tri-level (MFTL) decision problem which appears in many real-world applications. To solve this problem, we need to find an optimal solution achieving both the Stackelberg equilibrium in the three-level vertical structure and the Nash equilibrium among multiple followers at the same horizontal level. In this paper, we first propose a general linear MFTL decision model for this situation. We then develop a MFTL Kth-Best algorithm to find an optimal solution to the model. Since the optimal solution means a compromised result in the uncooperative situation and it is often imprecise or ambiguous for decision entities to identify their related satisfaction, we use a fuzzy programming approach to characterize and evaluate the solution obtained. Lastly, a real-world case study on production-inventory planning illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed MFTL decision techniques.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Information Sciences	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.ins.2015.03.043	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing	en_US
dc.title	Tri-level decision-making with multiple followers: Model, algorithm and case study	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	311	en_US
utslib.for	080105 Expert Systems	en_US
utslib.for	080108 Neural, Evolutionary and Fuzzy Computation	en_US
utslib.for	080605 Decision Support and Group Support Systems	en_US
utslib.for	01 Mathematical Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	08 Information and Computing Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	09 Engineering	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Computer Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CAI - Centre for Artificial Intelligence
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	311	en_US

Abstract:

© 2015 Elsevier Inc. Tri-level decision-making arises to address compromises among interacting decision entities distributed throughout a three-level hierarchy; these entities are respectively termed the top-level leader, the middle-level follower and the bottom-level follower. This study considers an uncooperative situation where multiple followers at the same (middle or bottom) level make their individual decisions independently but consider the decision results of their counterparts as references through information exchanged among themselves. This situation is called a reference-based uncooperative multi-follower tri-level (MFTL) decision problem which appears in many real-world applications. To solve this problem, we need to find an optimal solution achieving both the Stackelberg equilibrium in the three-level vertical structure and the Nash equilibrium among multiple followers at the same horizontal level. In this paper, we first propose a general linear MFTL decision model for this situation. We then develop a MFTL Kth-Best algorithm to find an optimal solution to the model. Since the optimal solution means a compromised result in the uncooperative situation and it is often imprecise or ambiguous for decision entities to identify their related satisfaction, we use a fuzzy programming approach to characterize and evaluate the solution obtained. Lastly, a real-world case study on production-inventory planning illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed MFTL decision techniques.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/35461