Models and tools for value systems analysis in collaborative environments

Dissertation to obtain the degree of Doctor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, specialization of Collaborative NetworksParticipation in collaborative networks is vital for small and medium-sized enterprises to survive in the current market, bringing them several benefits. However,participation in collaborative networks also involves risks and often consortia fail due to internal conflicts. Conflicts can be originated by different prioritization of values and different perceptions of outcomes. The perception of outcomes is, to some extent, subjective given that it depends on the preferences of the subject and how exchanges are evaluated. Therefore, the establishment of a common Value System or the effort to align the Value Systems of network members can play an important role in the collaboration sustainability. Although the topic of values and values alignment has been studied within the scope of various scientific disciplines, there is still no common understanding on these concepts and the literature does not include any suitable models to formally represent and analyze Value Systems within the scope of collaborative networks. This thesis proposes a set of models and formal mechanisms for specifying and analyzing Value Systems in collaborative networks. The development of models and methods followed a hybrid approach, where qualitative and quantitative techniques are used in order to represent and analyze the Value System. A web application was designed and a prototype developed in order to show that the models and methods proposed can be implemented by a computer program and can be integrated into a single framework in order to support Value Systems management within the scope of collaborative networks. The application of a multifaceted and systematic validation strategy, supported by the “Square Validation Framework” brought together a set of preliminary results that attest the theoretical and practical relevance of the proposed approach and allow us to conclude that: (i) it is possible to define and analyze Value Systems in collaborative networks, considering the economic and sociologic approach, in an integrated and unambiguous way, (ii) the potential impacts between Value Systems in collaborative environments can be inferred if the typical influences among core values are known and the preferences of the actors, regarding those values, are identified; (iii) the identification and assessment of Value Systems misalignments would be improved if qualitative and quantitative assessment methods integrating the notion of shared-values, potential for conflict and positive impacts were developed

Partner selection in virtual enterprises

Tese de doutoramento. Engenharia Industrial e Gestão. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

Arcabouço para seleção de indicadores de desempenho para a busca e seleção de parceiros para organizações virtuais

Tese(doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Elétrica.No mundo competitivo em que as organizações estão inseridas atualmente, não há tempo para postergar idéias e oportunidades pela falta de suporte a rápida formação de grupos de organizações que possam trabalhar colaborativamente. Assuntos relacionados a este tema vêm sendo tratados pela área de pesquisa chamada "Redes Colaborativas de Organizações". Dentre as pesquisas promovidas por essa disciplina destaca-se o estudo das "Organizações Virtuais" (OVs). Um dos aspectos críticos relacionados à formação de OVs é a seleção de seus parceiros, ou seja, como selecionar as organizações mais aptas a participar de uma OV. Neste contexto, um dos assuntos relacionados diz respeito aos critérios utilizados para essa seleção, mais especificamente, aos indicadores de desempenho a serem aplicados como critérios para a seleção de parceiros para OVs. Considerando a complexidade desta tarefa, este trabalho apresenta um arcabouço desenvolvido para auxiliar o usuário na identificação e seleção dos indicadores de desempenho apropriados para comparar e sugerir organizações que sejam capazes de satisfazer os requisitos da oportunidade de colaboração. Este arcabouço compreende uma metodologia que utiliza recuperação de informação baseada em semântica para selecionar os indicadores, suportada por uma ontologia desenvolvida especialmente para este propósito. As vantagens de tal arcabouço são, principalmente, o suporte ao usuário na seleção de indicadores através da automatização de algumas partes do processo, assim como no auxilio ao entendimento do processo como um todo, deixando mais claros quais são os elementos envolvidos, entradas, saídas, recursos necessários, interdependências entre atividades, bem como a correta seqüência de ativação de cada uma. In the current dynamic world where organizations are inserted in, there is no time to postpone ideas or businesses, even less to lose them, due to the lack of support that helps them in a fast connection establishment to form groups of organizations prepared to work collaboratively. Issues related to this subject have been addressed by the research field called "Collaborative Networked Organizations". Within the researches provided by this discipline there are those related to "Virtual Organizations" (VOs). One of the critical aspects related to VO creation is the selection of its partners, it means, how to select the more suitable organizations to take part of a VO. In this context, one of the big issues concerns the criteria used to perform the partners' selection, more specifically, the performance indicators to be applied as criteria to select OV partners. Considering the complexity of this task, this work presents a framework developed to aid the user identifying and selecting the properly performance indicators to compare and suggest organizations that are able to fulfill the collaboration opportunity requirements. This framework comprises a methodology that uses semantic information retrieval technique to select the indicators, supported by an ontology developed especially for that purpose. The advantages of such approach are, mainly, the user's support in the selection of indicators through the automation of some parts of the process, as well as contributing to the process understanding at all, letting more clear which are the involved elements, inputs, outputs, resources required, interdependency among activities and the correct sequence of activation of each one of them