A novel capacity-based approach for measuring alternative interactions in multicriteria decision analysis

The issue of criteria interactions has been well addressed in multicriteria decision analysis research, whereas the interactive effects of alternatives on decision results are yet to be further investigated. To provide new insights into the issue of alternative interactions, we propose a novel approach for measuring alternative interactions by using the λ-capacity, Choquet integral, and criteria interactions. With the notion of alternative interactions being reflected and measured by criteria interactions, the approach first develops an absolute interaction index and a relative interaction index to objectively measure the degree of interactive effects between alternatives under different decision contexts. It then testifies the impact of criteria interactions on alternative interactions. To examine the effectiveness and applicability of the approach, an empirical study on city environmental performance evaluation is conducted. The empirical results show that the interaction between cities as alternatives provides valuable insights into city planning for developing effective city alliance forms.