Interval-valued hesitant fuzzy linguistic multiattribute decision-making method based on three-parameter Heronian mean operators (Q2051632)

Summary: Numerous variants have been proposed for sets of linguistic terms and the interval-valued hesitant fuzzy set (IVHFS). In particular, the interval-valued hesitant fuzzy linguistic set (IVHFLS) is more suitable for defining the hesitancy and inconsistency inherent in the human cognitive processes of decision making. A key aggregation operator is Heronian mean (HM), based on which the correlation among aggregated arguments can be captured. However, the existing HM operators partially overlook the correlation among more than two arguments and lack the properties of idempotency and reducibility. In this work, the limitations of HM operators are first analyzed. Then, two new HM variants are introduced: three-parameter weighted Heronian mean (TPWHM) and three-parameter weighted geometric Heronian mean (TPWGHM). Thus, the reducibility, idempotency, monotonicity, and boundedness properties are proven for the two computational procedures, and unique situations are mentioned. Furthermore, two more elaborate operators are also introduced which are called the interval-valued hesitant fuzzy linguistic TPWHM (IVHFLTPWHM) and the interval-valued hesitant fuzzy linguistic TPWGHM (IVHFLTPWGHM). The main properties, as well as unique situations of these two computational procedures, are discussed. Finally, the introduced methods are clarified by illustrative examples. In addition, the parameter effects on the decision-making outcomes are discussed and comparisons with other reference methods are made.