Abstract
Hesitant 2-tuple linguistic variable realizes a graded information approach to characterize the uncertainty of human cognition. This study is concerned with the development of new aggregation operators and aims to design a new group decision making approach to address the information fusion involving the interrelationship between aggregated terms and the prioritization relationship among decision makers under hesitant 2-tuple linguistic situation. Firstly, hesitant 2-tuple linguistic Bonferroni mean (H2TLBM) operator and prioritized weighted hesitant 2-tuple linguistic Bonferroni mean (PWH2TLBM) operator are established. Subsequently, some pertinent properties and special forms of the developed operators are studied in detail. To employ the proposed operators to solve group decision making problems, a novel TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese of interactive and multiple attribute decision making) method based on possibility degree is developed under the situation of hesitant 2-tuple linguistic information. The designed decision making method not only inherits the merits of the traditional TODIM approach, but also characterizes the interrelationship of criteria. The detailed process of solving problems is exemplified to highlight the practicality and feasibility of the designed method. Furthermore, comparative analysis with other methods is carried out to further offer insights on the designed decision method. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.