*Article* **Regret Theory and Fuzzy-DEMATEL-Based Model for Construction Program Manager Selection in China**

**Hongyan Yan 1, Yuxuan Yang 2, Xi Lei 1, Qing Ye 1, Wenzhen Huang <sup>1</sup> and Ce Gao 3,4,\***

	- Guangzhou 510000, China

**Abstract:** During the drastic changing process of the construction industry in China, construction program management has been given significant attention. Due to the complexity of construction programs, selecting competent managers is crucially important to its success. Therefore, based on a comprehensive literature review, this paper combines regret theory and the Fuzzy-DEMATEL method to develop a multi-attribute model for construction program manager selection. Firstly, six competence elements are extracted, then the manager selection and evaluation index system are constructed. Secondly, the regret theory is used to simulate the psychological characteristics of the decision makers, combined with Fuzzy-DEMATEL, the comprehensive weights for each element are calculated. Lastly, all alternatives for the selection are sorted and the competent ones are selected. A case study is provided to exam the effectiveness of the developed model. Results shows that the proposed model adopted multi-attribute evaluation and group decision making and took into account the psychological behavior of decision makers as well as influences from the relationships between different attributes. Such results indicate that the proposed model is able to provide more comprehensive and scientific construction program manager selections, which can further improve the management of construction programs.

**Keywords:** construction program manager selection; group decision-making; multi-attribute evaluation; regret theory; Fuzzy-DEMATEL
