Abstract

This study introduces the Painted Wolf Decision Optimizer (PWO), the first deterministic, bio-inspired decision framework for discrete multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) derived from specific observed decision behaviors of African wild dogs, including quorum sensing, dominance hierarchy, collective voting, and experience-based learning. Unlike conventional nature-inspired metaheuristics that rely on stochastic search across continuous domains, PWO defines a new class of Discrete Bio-Inspired Decision Operators. It formalizes key ethological mechanisms of Lycaon pictus: quorum sensing, hierarchical dominance, and reinforcement-based learning. Additionally, it encodes the principle of survival-through-precision, demonstrating how coordinated strategic alignment can outperform structural dominance under resource constraints, inspired by the high hunting efficiency of African wild dogs. PWO integrates three cognitive weighting components: subjective collective preferences (sneeze-based voting), objective data variability (entropy weighting), and experiential reinforcement (pack memory). These are fused via the Mathematical Compromiser, a convex operator that assigns internal trust based on signal stability rather than fixed weighting rules. Applied to European EV gigafactory location selection, PWO reconciled tensions between cost-driven executive preferences and sustainability-based performance indicators, identifying Spain as the most robust alternative. Sensitivity analysis across the dominance spectrum (D = 0 → 1) and multiple episodes confirmed ranking stability without rank reversal. The Markovian update formalizes longitudinal learning for future multi-episode applications. Beyond discrete selection, PWO functions as a diagnostic and competitive resilience mechanism, revealing whether decisions are shaped by leadership authority, structural necessity, historical trends, or precision-based survival logic. It provides a transparent and strategically adaptive architecture for sustainable governance and high-stakes competitive decision environments.

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