A new ELECTRE-based method for group decision-making with complex spherical fuzzy information

This study exploits the tremendous theory of ELimination and Choice Expressing REality (ELECTRE) method to enhance the number of outranking approaches for the ground-breaking and recent extension of fuzzy set theory, namely, complex spherical fuzzy set. The noticeable edge of this striking model is its wider and flexible structure that empowers it to encompass the abstinence part of vague information in addition to satisfaction and dissatisfaction in two dimensional scenarios. In short, this article delivers the compact procedure of the widely applicable, high skilled and multi-purpose complex spherical fuzzy ELECTRE II approach. The designed algorithm of the presented methodology cumulates the worthy opinions of the decision-making experts in the light of complex spherical fuzzy weighted averaging operator. Furthermore, proposed method is privileged with the remarkable notions of concordance and discordance sets in order to unfold the pairwise relation between the alternatives regarding any criterion. The proposed approach predicts the final ranking of alternatives with the aid of crisp strong and weak outranking relations to filter the strict and weak precedence between any pair of alternatives. The practical application of the proposed approach is demonstrated via a case study to opt the most efficient technology to treat cadmium-contaminated water. A comparative study with complex spherical fuzzy ELECTRE I (CSF-ELECTRE I) and spherical fuzzy TOPSIS (SF-TOPSIS) methods is conducted to collect the enough evidence to foreground the authenticity and aptitude of proposed technique.