Table Of ContentMultiple Criteria Decision Making
Nikolaos Matsatsinis
Evangelos Grigoroudis Editors
Preference
Disaggregation
in Multiple
Criteria Decision
Analysis
Essays in Honor of Yannis Siskos
Multiple Criteria Decision Making
Serieseditor
ConstantinZopounidis
TechnicalUniversityofCrete
SchoolofProductionEngineeringandManagement
Chania
Greece
This book series focuses on the publication of monographs and edited volumes
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Inrecentyears,multicriteriaanalysishasbeenwidelyusedfordecisionmaking
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Nikolaos Matsatsinis • Evangelos Grigoroudis
Editors
Preference Disaggregation
in Multiple Criteria Decision
Analysis
Essays in Honor of Yannis Siskos
123
Editors
NikolaosMatsatsinis EvangelosGrigoroudis
TechnicalUniversityofCrete TechnicalUniversityofCrete
Chania,Greece Chania,Greece
ISSN2366-0023 ISSN2366-0031 (electronic)
MultipleCriteriaDecisionMaking
ISBN978-3-319-90598-3 ISBN978-3-319-90599-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90599-0
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Preface
This volume is a Festschrift in honor of Yannis Siskos on the occasion of his
retirement.
YannisSiskosstudiedmathematicsattheUniversityofAthens,Greece.Hethen
wenttoFranceforPhDstudieswithascholarshipofUNESCOandreceivedhisPhD
degree in computer science and operations research from the University of Pierre
andMarieCurie(PARISVI,1979).From1981to1984,hetaughtattheUniversity
of Paris-Dauphine, at the rank of Maître de Conférence, where he fulfilled the
State PhD (Doctorat d’Etat) in management sciences. He was Professor in the
field of “Science of Decision Making” at the School of Production Engineering
v
vi Preface
and Management of the Technical University of Crete, Greece (1984–2001), and
attheDepartmentofInformatics,UniversityofPiraeus,Greece(2001–2015),from
whereheretired.Hehasalso taughtintheTechnicalSchoolsofTurin,Ecolesdes
Mines of Nancy,and Arts et Métiers of Paris and at the Universitiesof Laval and
Montreal of Canada, Aix-Marseille II, Rouen, Brussels, and Cyprus as well as in
the PhD programsof the NationalTechnicalUniversity of Athens and the Athens
UniversityofEconomicsandBusiness.YannisSiskosreceivedHonoraryDoctorate
fromtheDepartmentofBusinessandAdministration,PiraeusUniversityofApplied
Sciences,andhehasbeenelectedasEmeritusProfessorattheSchoolofProduction
EngineeringandManagement,TechnicalUniversityofCrete.
Forseveralyears,hehasbeenchairmanattheSchoolofProductionEngineering
and Management, Technical University of Crete, where he founded the first
laboratoryofDecision SupportSystemsin Greece. From1993to 1997,he served
asVice-RectoroftheTechnicalUniversityofCrete.HehasalsoservedasPresident
oftheHellenicOperationalResearchSociety(HELORS)andasVice-Presidentof
theInternationalFederationofOperationalResearchSocieties(IFORS),andhewas
the founder,and coordinatorfor over20 years, of the Hellenic Working Groupof
HELORSin“MultipleCriteriaDecisionMaking.”
Yannis Siskos received in 2005 the National Award and Gold Medal of the
HELORSforhiscontributiontotheprogressofoperationalresearch.Hehasbeen
honored with the highest distinction in the field of multicriteria decision making
in2015,theGoldMedaloftheInternationalSocietyonMultipleCriteriaDecision
Making.Sinceitsestablishment,YannisSiskosisthefirstGreekscientistwhohas
received this medal for his contribution to the evolution of multicriteria decision
making through his long-term research and in particular his contribution to the
development of new theories, models, methodologies, and scientific applications
of decisions in modern management. In 2016, he also received the Distinguished
Service Medal (EDSM Award) from the Association of European Operational
ResearchSocieties(EURO)intheareaofoperationalresearch.YannisSiskosisthe
firstGreekscholarwhoreceivedtheEDSMAward,whichisthehighestrecognition
inEuropeofdistinguishedservicetotheEuropeanoperationalresearchcommunity.
The main contributionsof YannisSiskos focuson two interrelated areas in the
fieldofmultiplecriteriadecisionaid:
• Developmentofaggregation–disaggregationapproaches
• Real-world applications of multicriteria decision aid tools in the marketing
problems
Inthefirstarea,YannisSiskos,withthecollaborationofothercolleaguesinthis
field,developedtheUTAfamilyofmethods,asthemostfamousandcharacteristic
example of aggregation–disaggregationapproaches. The UTA methods originated
an entire family of preference disaggregation models in customer satisfaction
evaluation (e.g., MUSA method), business excellence (e.g., MUSABE method),
ordinal regression (e.g., ROR), and many others. At the occasion of the 30th
anniversary of EURO, the European Journal of Operational Research (EJOR)
selected the original publication of the UTA method by Yannis Siskos and Eric
Preface vii
Jacquet-Lagrèzeas one of the most “influential” articles publishedin EJOR since
itsbeginning.
In the second area, the passion of Yannis Siskos for real-world applications
motivatedhimtodevelopnovelapproachesinseveralmarketingproblems,includ-
ing consumer behavior analysis and simulation, customer satisfaction evaluation,
etc. His contributionin this field is extremelyimportantand, given the noveltyof
modelingreal-worldsituations,showshowmulticriteriadecisionaidtoolsmaybe
appliedinfieldslikemarketing,whichattractedrelativelylowerattentionbeforeby
operationalresearchers.
Yannis Siskos is one of the pioneers of multiple criteria decision making
worldwide.Hisworkonthefieldofpreferencedisaggregationcontinuestomotivate
scholarsacrossthe world to developnew methodsandapproachesand use opera-
tionalresearch tools in real-worldapplications.At the same time, his influence in
theGreekoperationalresearchsocietyhasbeenextremelystrong,notonlythrough
the positions he held in HELORS during his active career but also through the
supervisions of numerous doctoral, postgraduate, and undergraduatestudents and
the collaborationswith other Greekscholars. YannisSiskoshas supervisedand/or
collaborated with most authors of this edited volume during their PhD studies,
while many of his doctoral students currently hold academic positions in several
distinguished academic and research institutions. Thus, his work and ideas will
continue to influence new researchers in the field of preference disaggregation
modelingandanalysis.
The main theme of this edited volume is preference disaggregation, the main
contribution of Yannis Siskos in the operationalresearch field. The previousvery
brief biographicalsketch is notable to reflect the real influence of Yannis Siskos,
andthereforethisvolume,includingsomeindicativeworksinthefieldofpreference
disaggregation,tries to presentseveralalternativemethodsandapplicationsof the
aggregation–disaggregationparadigm.
In addition to this short Preface, followed by a list of selected publications of
Yannis Siskos, this volume consists of ten chapters. The first chapter by Alberto
Colorni and Alexis Tsoukiàs presents a general framework for the design of
alternativesindecision-makingproblems.Thisisoneofthefundamentalproblems
inpreferencedisaggregation,wheretheclarificationofthedecisionmakers’global
preferencenecessitatestheuseofasetofreferenceactions.Thechapteralsoaims
at providing archetypes for the design of algorithms supporting the generation of
alternativesinageneralcontext.
The second chapter by Nikos Tsotsolas and Spiros Alexopoulos discusses
how facilitated forms of multicriteria decision aid could tackle different aspects
associatedwith strategic decisionmakingand provideeffectivesupportin dealing
withtherobustnessofstrategicdecisionsindesigningcomplexstrategieswithlong-
term consequences. The authors address the seeming paradox, i.e., how can we
evaluate the rationality of our decisions today, if the most important fact that we
knowaboutfuture conditionsis that they are unknowable,and suggest robustness
analysis as a way of supporting strategic decision making when dealing with
viii Preface
uncertainties and ignorance. They also present case studies where multicriteria
decisionaidinghasbeenusedtotacklestrategicdecisionproblems.
Thenextchapterisdevotedtocollaborativedecisionmaking.AthanasiosSpyri-
dakos and Denis Yannacopoulos proposed the exploitation of UTA methods and
votingcollectivefunctionsof socialchoicetheoryin orderto supportthe decision
aidprocessinamulti-agentdecisionenvironment.Theyillustratetheapplicability
of the proposed approach through the use of the RACES system, which has been
developed to support small group decision aid process, along with the MINORA
andtheMIIDASdecisionsupportsystems.
ThefourthchapterbyMichalisDoumposandConstantinZopounidispresentsan
overviewofthepreferencedisaggregationtechniquesinmulticriteriaclassification.
Classification problems refer to the assignment of a given set of alternatives into
predefined categories/classes. In this context, preference disaggregation provides
a valuable basis for facilitating the construction of appropriate models using a
data-drivenprocess.Thepresentedoverviewcoversthe differenttypesofdecision
modelsanddiscussesthealternativeapproachesused formodelinference,as well
asrobustnessissues.
The fifth chapter presents an overview of multiple criteria approaches in the
customersatisfactionevaluationproblem.EvangelosGrigoroudisandYannisPolitis
emphasize that customer satisfaction can be perceived as a multicriteria evalu-
ation problem, where the overall satisfaction with the provided service/product
depends on a set of satisfaction criteria. The chapter presents an overview of
recent developments in the context of the MUSA method, which is a collective
preference disaggregation model following the principles of ordinal regression
analysisapproach.Theauthorsalsodiscussalternativeformulationsofthecustomer
satisfactionevaluationproblemandpresentothermulticriteriadecisionaidmethods
used,likeoutrankingapproaches.
ThenextchapterbyIsaakVryzidis,AthanasiosSpyridakos,andNikosTsotsolas
presents a methodological framework for project portfolio selection, combining
the UTASTAR algorithm with a 0-1 multiobjective linear programming. The
authors emphasize the complexity of this portfolio selection problem, given that
the effectiveness of the resulting portfolio of projects is directly linked with the
availability of resources, the social/economic environment, the efficiency of the
project implementation teams, the overall strategic planning of the organization,
etc.Thechapteralsodiscusseshowstochasticcriteriamaybeconsideredinorderto
evaluatealternativeprojectsunderuncertaintyandpresentsacasestudyforaproject
portfolioselectionprobleminacontractionfirm.
The seventh chapter by Stelios Antoniades, Nikolaos Christodoulakis, Pavlos
Delias, and Nikolaos Matsatsinis presents an application of the aggregation–
disaggregation paradigm in crude oil pipeline risk management. They emphasize
thatpipelineriskmanagementisaprimaryconcernforoilandgascompanies,given
thesevereconsequencesonpeople’sproperties,humanhealth,andtheenvironment.
The authors applied the stochastic UTA method in order to assess the risk of
every part of a crude oil pipeline. The proposed approach considers the multiple
Preface ix
dimensionsoftheexaminedproblem,whileitisabletodealwiththeuncertainties
inthecriteriameasurementsandaggregatethepreferencesofmultipleexperts.
The nextpaperaimsto explorehowthe preferencedisaggregation–aggregation
paradigmcansupportdecisionmakinginenergypolicydesignandimplementation.
Alexandros Nikas, Haris Doukas, Eleftherios Siskos, and John Psarras present a
detailed literature review of multicriteria analysis applications in this domain and
emphasizetheresearchgapregardingtheapplicationofpreferencedisaggregation
approachesinenergypolicy.TheauthorsproposetheapplicationoftheUTASTAR
methodinorderto examinethepotentialdevelopmentofcleanelectricityprojects
throughthecooperationbetweenEuropeanUnionmemberstatesand22neighbor-
ing countries,with which the Unionhas alreadyestablishedties toward economic
andenergymarketintegration.
The ninth chapter by Pavlos Delias, Evangelos Grigoroudis, and Nikolaos
Matsatsinis presents an application of the MUSA method for developingregional
tourismstrategies.Theauthorsdiscusstheresultsofalarge-scaletouristsatisfaction
surveyinordertoprovideregionalpolicymakerswithastrategicplanforatouristic
destination strategy. The results of the MUSA method have been combined with
loyalty data and demographic statistics in order to examine the heterogeneity of
tourists and develop a SWOT analysis. The suggested plan focuses on potential
improvements to the offered regional tourism product that may increase tourists’
satisfactionandloyalty.
The last chapter of this edited volume presents a framework for analyzing
perceivedquality of healthcareservices by combiningthe MUSA methodand the
theory of attractive quality. In this context, Evangelia Krassadaki and Evangelos
Grigoroudispresentareal-worldstudyanalyzingthesatisfactionofcitizensfroma
publichospitalintermsoftheperceivedqualityofitscharacteristics.Thepresented
results focus mainly on the classification of the examined quality characteristics
into the main categories of the Kano’s theory of attractive quality (i.e., attractive,
expected,anddesiredquality).
We would like to sincerely thank all the contributing authors who submitted
papers. Their contribution has been essential in developing this volume, and we
wereimpressedbytheirwillingnesstoparticipateinthisproject.Thiswillingness
highlights and reflects the great impact of Yannis Siskos’ works and ideas on the
multicriteria decision aid community. We also wish to acknowledge the valuable
help of Dr. Christina Diakaki for editing several parts of this volume. Finally, we
would like to extend our sincere thanks to Springer Executive Editor, Christian
Rauscher,forhispatienceandencouragementduringthepreparationofthisbook.
Chania,Greece NikolaosMatsatsinis
December2017 EvangelosGrigoroudis
