A study on exit and entry mechanism and evolution of relationships between decision makers for multistage large-scale group decision-making problems

This study develops a framework for multistage large-scale group decision-making problems. In the proposed framework, we develop an exit and entry mechanism for decision makers (DMs), which can select suitable DMs for subsequent decision-making stages, exclude unqualified DMs, and maintain good trust relationships among DMs. Second, the relationships between DMs are allowed to evolve by building new links and updating trust levels. Third, we propose a new method to generate a recommendation plan for each DM by referencing another DM’s evaluation (reference source) in a specific proportion (modification rate). The probability of a DM accepting its recommendation plan can be calculated by considering two factors (reference source and modification rate). Then, we consider the expectation of incrementing group consensus degree as the objective function to determine the optimal reference source and modification rate for each DM, thereby generating its recommendation plan. Finally, simulation and comparison experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods in improving the efficiency of consensus reaching among DMs. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.