Axiomatic Characterizations of a Proportional Influence Measure for Sequential Projects with Imperfect Reliability

Abstract

We define and axiomatically characterize a new proportional influence measure for sequential projects with imperfect reliability. We consider a model in which a finite set of players aims to complete a project, consisting of a finite number of tasks, which can only be carried out by certain specific players. Moreover, we assume the players to be imperfectly reliable, i.e., players are not guaranteed to carry out a task successfully. To determine which players are most important for the completion of a project, we use a proportional influence measure. This paper provides two characterizations of this influence measure. The most prominent property in the first characterization is task decomposability. This property describes the relationship between the influence measure of a project and the measures of influence one would obtain if one divides the tasks of the project over multiple independent smaller projects. Invariance under replacement is the most prominent property of the second characterization. If, in a certain task group, a specific player is replaced by a new player who was not in the original player set, this property states that this should have no effect on the allocated measure of influence of any other original player.

Keywords

• projects
• reliability
• proportional influence measure
• axiomatic characterization