xmlui.ArtifactBrowser.SimpleSearch.filter.source:Scientific papers of the University of Pardubice. Series D, Faculty of Economics and Administration. 41/2017
ISSN:ISSN 1211-555X (Print)
Abstract:
A problem of the inconsistency of pairwise comparisons is of focal interest
in the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), but, up to date, we know only little about how
much are real decision makers inconsistent, and whether the number of objects to be
compared influences the inconsistency of their judgments. Therefore, the aim of this
paper is to experimentally assess how the inconsistency of pairwise comparisons in the
AHP framework changes when the number of objects to be compared (alternatives
and/or criteria) increases. In our study, the method of a blind experiment was
selected: subjects of the study, who were familiar with the AHP, were instructed to
pairwise compare from 3 to 7 objects not knowing the true objective of the study. The
main result obtained via ANOVA method is that the consistency ratio was not affected
by the increasing number of compared objects, the result that might be likely
attributed to the apparent redundancy of pairwise comparisons in the AHP which
“corrects” inconsistent judgments. Also, it was found that only 3% of pairwise
comparison matrices provided by decision makers were fully consistent, while for 36%
of pairwise comparison matrices the consistency ratio CR exceeded the threshold of
0.10.