J 2026

Cardinal-ordinal inconsistency thresholds in discrete and continuous pairwise comparisons

MAZUREK, Jiří

Basic information

Original name

Cardinal-ordinal inconsistency thresholds in discrete and continuous pairwise comparisons

Authors

Edition

Annals of Operations Research, 2026, 0254-5330

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Article in a journal

Field of Study

10200 1.2 Computer and information sciences

Country of publisher

Netherlands

Confidentiality degree

is not subject to a state or trade secret

References:

Impact factor

Impact factor: 4.500 in 2024

Marked to be transferred to RIV

No

Organization unit

School of Business Administration in Karvina

Keywords in English

Cardinal consistency; Inconsistency; Ordinal consistency; Pairwise comparisons; Transitivity
Changed: 3/9/2026 11:16, doc. Mgr. Jiří Mazurek, Ph.D.

Abstract

In the original language

Pairwise comparisons (PCs) form a crucial part of many popular multiple-criteria decision-making methods designed to solve complex real-world problems. The aim of the paper is to investigate the relationship between cardinal and ordinal inconsistency in the multiplicative pairwise comparisons framework, both for discrete and continuous scales. In particular, the study focuses on thresholds of cardinal inconsistency (expressed by suitable triad based inconsistency indices: Koczkodaj’s index KI, the Peláez-Lamata index PLI, the triads geometric consistency index T-GCI and the Cavallo-d’Apuzzo index) such that below these thresholds a PC matrix has to be ordinally consistent. The thresholds above which a PC matrix has to be ordinally inconsistent are provided as well. In addition, estimates for Saaty’s index CR are also included. The derived thresholds enable a decision maker to quickly assess ordinal consistency without checking the transitivity of all triads contained in the matrix, thus enabling a fast check of rationality of judgments contained in a PC matrix.