Interval 2-tuple linguistic distance operators and their applications to supplier evaluation and selection

Abstract

With respect to multicriteria supplier selection problems with interval 2-tuple linguistic information, a new decision making approach that uses distance measures is proposed. Motivated by the ordered weighted distance (OWD) measures, in this paper, we develop some interval 2-tuple linguistic distance operators such as the interval 2-tuple weighted distance (ITWD), the interval 2-tuple ordered weighted distance (ITOWD), and the interval 2-tuple hybrid weighted distance (ITHWD) operators. These aggregation operators are very useful for the treatment of input data in the form of interval 2-tuple linguistic variables. We study some desirable properties of the ITOWD operator and further generalize it by using the generalized and the quasi-arithmetic means. Finally, the new approach is utilized to complete a supplier selection study for an actual hospital from the healthcare industry.