ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we propose a hybrid model for supporting the selection of suppliers in the telecommunications sector by using fuzzy multicriteria decision-making and logical interactions between the criteria. The proposed model integrates interpolative Boolean algebra (IBA) into the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP). We benchmark the traditional FAHP where all criteria are stand alone and assumed to be independent, against FAHP, which uses logical interactions set by decision makers as the decision criteria. Once the logical interactions are set, they are translated into a generalized Boolean polynomial (GBP), after which the GBP is reduced to a numerical value through logical aggregation. This chapter highlights the importance of modeling the interactions between criteria in the decision-making process because otherwise decision-making models may suggest bad decisions due to the naïve assumptions of linearity of the aggregation function and the independence of criteria. In addition, with the use of logical interactions, decision makers are able to present their requirements more clearly. In this way, they can make a more comprehensive and better informed decision than the case with conventional fuzzy methods which do not work in a Boolean framework and treat negation logically inconsistent.
