Hesitant fuzzy N-soft ELECTRE-II model: a new framework for decision-making

In the modelization of frameworks for multi-attribute decision-making, hesitancy embodies a convenient attitude toward undetermined or vague knowledge provided by distinct experts from a group. Hesitant fuzzy N-soft sets are a functional improvement in hesitant fuzzy sets with the practical spirit of N-soft sets. This analytical model accommodates the hesitant situations with evaluations by grades (e.g., in terms of star ratings) and partial degrees of membership. In this article, we approach the problem of selecting alternatives that are described by this model. We advocate for the use of an adapted form of the ELECTRE-II method, that we describe under the name “hesitant fuzzy N-soft ELECTRE-II method.” With the aim of designing this novel method, we first characterize the notion of hesitant fuzzy N-soft concordance and discordance sets and then construct strong and weak outranking relation, which allow us to rank the objects of the reference set. A practical example concerning the ranking of hotels based on star ratings is fully developed in order to illustrate the applicability of this method. Furthermore, an exhaustive comparison with the hesitant fuzzy N-soft ELECTRE-I and bipolar fuzzy ELECTRE-I methods is performed.