Optimality-Based Clustering: An Inverse Optimization Approach

We propose a new clustering approach, called optimality-based clustering, that clusters data points based on their latent decision-making preferences. We assume that each data point is a decision generated by a decision-maker who (approximately) solves an optimization problem and cluster the data points by identifying a common objective function of the optimization problems for each cluster such that the worst-case optimality error is minimized. We propose three clustering models and present mixed-integer programs that generate lower and upper bound solutions.