Decision making in the assignment process by using the Hungarian algorithm with OWA operators

Abstract

Assignment processes permit to coordinate two set of variables so each variable of the first set is connected to another variable of the second set. This paper develops a new assignment algorithm by using a wide range of aggregation operators in the Hungarian algorithm. A new process based on the use of the ordered weighted averaging distance (OWAD) operator and the induced OWAD (IOWAD) operator in the Hungarian algorithm is introduced. We refer to it as the Hungarian algorithm with the OWAD operator (HAOWAD) and the Hungarian algorithm with the IOWAD operator (HAIOWAD). The main advantage of this approach is that we can provide a parameterized family of aggregation operators between the minimum and the maximum. Thus, the information can be represented in a more complete way. Furthermore, we also present a general framework by using generalized and quasi-arithmetic means. Therefore, we can consider a wide range of particular cases including the Euclidean and the Minkowski distance. The paper ends with a practical application of the new approach in a financial decision making problem regarding the assignment of investments.

Keywords:

• uncertainty modelling
• OWA operators
• Hungarian algorithm
• assignment theory
• distance measure

JEL Classification:

• C43
• C44
• D81
• G11

Additional information

Emili VIZUETE-LUCIANO is Professor of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Barcelona, Spain. He is a PhD candidate in Business Administration. He has published several articles in journals, books and conference proceedings including journals such as Universia Business Review and Kybernetes. He has participated in several scientific committees and serves as a reviewer in a wide range of journals including the European Journal of Operational Research, Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Mathematical and Computer Modelling. He is a member of the Board Committee of AMSE Organization. He is currently interested in Decision Making, Finance, Marketing and Uncertainty.

José M. MERIGÓ has a MSc and a PhD degree in Business Administration from University of Barcelona, Spain. His PhD received the Extraordinary Award from the University of Barcelona. He also holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and a Master Degree in European Business Administration and Business Law from Lund University, Sweden. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Business Administration at the University of Barcelona. He has published more than 150 papers in journals, books and conference proceedings including journals such as Information Sciences, International Journal of Information Technology and Decision Making, Technological and Economic Development of Economy, Expert Systems with Applications, International Journal of Intelligent Systems, International Journal of Uncertainty, Fuzziness and Knowledge-Based Systems, Cybernetics & Systems, Computers & Industrial Engineering and International Journal of Fuzzy Systems. He is on the editorial board of several journals, participates in several scientific committees and serves as a reviewer in a wide range of journals. He is currently interested in Aggregation Operators, Decision Making and Uncertainty.

Anna M. GIL-LAFUENTE is an Associate Professor at the University of Barcelona. She holds a Master and a PhD degree in Business Administration from the University of Barcelona. She has published more than 200 publications in journals, books and conference proceedings, including journals such as Information Sciences, Expert Systems with Applications, International Journal of Uncertainty, Fuzziness and Knowledge-Based Systems, African Journal of Business Management and Economic Computation and Economic Cybernetics Studies and Research. She has also published several books including two in the Book Series of Springer “Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing” and one with World Scientific. She is co-editor in chief of the 8 international journals that publishes the AMSE organization. She has participated in a wide range of scientific committees and as a reviewer in international journals. She is currently interested in Decision Making, Finance and Uncertainty.

Sefa BORIA-REVERTER is Associate Professor of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Barcelona, Spain. She is a PhD candidate in Business Administration. She has published several in journals, books and conference proceedings including journals such as Universia Business Review and Kybernetes. She has participated in several scientific committees and serves as a reviewer in Universia Business Review. She is currently interested in Organization, Corporate Social Responsibility and Decision Making.