Trust Building and Usage Control for Electronic Business Processes

Information technology (IT) supports companies to streamline their business processes. The main contributions of IT are the digitalization of data and efficient communication networks, which allow companies to automatize their business processes and thus increase their efficiency, i.e., their value creation. This effort started with the optimization of internal business processes within a company. Nowadays, it also includes external business processes, in which multiple enterprises and even customers are involved. However, using IT also causes undesirable side effects for companies. They are exposed to a wide range of vulnerabilities and threats. Digitalizing data, e.g., documents, spurs the access to that data and the exchange of it. However, a disadvantageous result of digitalizing data is the increased risk of unauthorized access to that data. Communication networks provide an excellent foundation for collaboration between companies. At the same time, the open and anonymous character of communication networks is a reason for distrust towards business partners offering their goods and services over such networks. As a result of these undesirable side effects, the outcome of a certain business process supported by IT may be suboptimal or companies may refrain from using IT. Against this background, this thesis focuses on securing electronic business processes with regard to two aspects, i.e., building trust in open networks and controlling the usage of digital objects. Trust is the prerequisite for all kinds of commercial transactions. Using reputation information is one possible way to build up trust among business partners. In this thesis, we propose two new reputation systems to establish trust for ad-hoc processes in open markets. The first reputation system facilitates trust building in the context of electronic negotiations which are performed with the help of a centralized system. The reputation system enables companies to find trustworthy business partners and provides decision support during a negotiation. The second reputation system supports trust building in decentralized Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks. A main feature of this system is its robustness against coalition attacks, which is proven with the help of a simulation. Controlling the usage of digital objects demands two functionalities. First, we need methods for defining usage rules. Second, mechanisms for enforcing the defined usage rules are required. In this thesis, we address both aspects of usage control. Digital documents play a central role in business processes, since they are a means of integration and are handled among business partners. Some documents are sensitive and thus have to be protected from being accessed by unauthorized parties. For this purpose, we propose a flexible and expressive access control model for electronic documents. Our model captures the information about the operations performed on documents. This history information can be used to define access control rules. Customers are involved in the execution of special kinds of business processes, such as selling and consuming digital goods. In these cases, digital goods have to be protected from being used in an unauthorized way, e.g., being shared in public networks. Thus, the trustworthiness of customers' platforms has to be verified before transferring digital goods. For this, we propose a robust integrity reporting protocol which is necessary when a remote platform has to perform security relevant operations, e.g., to enforce a security policy which controls the usage of digital content. This integrity reporting protocol is a building block of a new Digital Rights Management system which is also presented in this thesis. This system provides a high protection level. At the same time, it allows users to transfer their purchased content to other devices or users.

Automated Auction Mechanism Design with Competing Markets

Resource allocation is a major issue in multiple areas of computer science. Despite the wide range of resource types across these areas, for example real commodities in e-commerce and computing resources in distributed computing, auctions are commonly used in solving the optimization problems involved in these areas, since well designed auctions achieve desirable economic outcomes. Auctions are markets with strict regulations governing the information available to traders in the market and the possible actions they can take. Auction mechanism design aims to manipulate the rules of an auction in order to achieve specific goals. Economists traditionally use mathematical methods, mainly game theory, to analyze auctions and design new auction forms. However, due to the high complexity of auctions, the mathematical models are typically simplified to obtain results, and this makes it difficult to apply results derived from such models to market environments in the real world. As a result, researchers are turning to empirical approaches. Following this line of work, we present what we call a grey-box approach to automated auction mechanism design using reinforcement learning and evolutionary computation methods. We first describe a new strategic game, called \cat, which were designed to run multiple markets that compete to attract traders and make profit. The CAT game enables us to address the imbalance between prior work in this field that studied auctions in an isolated environment and the actual competitive situation that markets face. We then define a novel, parameterized framework for auction mechanisms, and present a classification of auction rules with each as a building block fitting into the framework. Finally we evaluate the viability of building blocks, and acquire auction mechanisms by combining viable blocks through iterations of CAT games. We carried out experiments to examine the effectiveness of the grey-box approach. The best mechanisms we learnt were able to outperform the standard mechanisms against which learning took place and carefully hand-coded mechanisms which won tournaments based on the CAT game. These best mechanisms were also able to outperform mechanisms from the literature even when the evaluation did not take place in the context of CAT games. These results suggest that the grey-box approach can generate robust double auction mechanisms and, as a consequence, is an effective approach to automated mechanism design. The contributions of this work are two-fold. First, the grey-box approach helps to design better auction mechanisms which can play a central role in solutions to resource allocation problems in various application domains of computer science. Second, the parameterized view and the reinforcement learning-based search method can be used in other strategic, competitive situations where decision making processes are complex and difficult to design and evaluate manually

The role of e-procurement in purchasing management

This exposition summarises research published in several academic articles, in order to meet the requirements of PhD by publication. The focus of the work is on the role of electronic procurement in management of the purchasing function. From the late 1990s a number of independent e-procurement mechanisms were launched which offered potential benefits such as increased order accuracy, transaction efficiency and greater integration between trading partners. At the outset of this programme of research, e-procurement was therefore an emerging phenomenon with little academic research and presented an opportunity to investigate a largely unexplored area. Edmondson and McManus (2007) suggest that for nascent, as opposed to mature areas of research, where few formal constructs or measures exist, an exploratory, qualitative approach is required. This research followed such an approach through the use of case studies, involving observation, participation and interviews with key organisational actors. Each paper makes use of several cases in order to compare and contrast results from different organisations and to draw conclusions from multi-case analysis. The published articles focus on the impact of core applications within e-procurement, including online reverse auctions, electronic marketplaces, online catalogue sites, and buying systems covering the ‘requisition to pay’ cycle. The findings from the papers address a number of core themes in purchasing management. In considering buyer-supplier relationships, it was observed that such dyads are driven by traditional buyer negotiation factors such as segmentation, power and price and that use of eprocurement applications tended to enforce such traditional behaviours. In relation to the potential for integration, the study found that integration between firms was barely affected, as the concept of integration was neither an objective nor a business case driver for e-procurement adoption. This situation reflects the finding that procurement managers pursue functional targets rather than supply chain-level objectives. However, other significant effects from e-procurement adoption were noted such as the tendency by buyers to reduce supplier numbers and a move to re-engineer the procurement function in buying firms, through automating transactional processes. The research finds that e-procurement does not have a deterministic impact on purchasing management, and that it acts as an enabler to more effective management of the function though the way its different mechanisms are deployed. The exposition establishes that e-procurement is used in relation to supply conditions which are characterised by both ‘markets’ and ‘hierarchies’, but that it is the predefined purchasing strategy of the firm, rather than available technology solutions, which determines when markets and hierarchies are used. Additionally, an original model is introduced, focusing on developing an e-procurement policy which can support strategic purchasing goals. This model extrapolates findings from stages in the research, and marries together elements from various papers and frameworks therein, to produce some guidelines for adoption of this technology

Online Reverse Auctions for Procurement of Services

Online reverse auctions, in which a buyer seeks to select a supplier and suppliers compete for contracts by bidding online, revolutionized corporate procurement early this century. Shortly after they had been pioneered by General Electric, many companies rushed to adopt reverse auctions but the adoption soon slowed down due to the negative effects of auction-induced competition. Today, as firms continue to experiment with the reverse auctions, it is important to understand how the interplay of the auction context, the service characteristics, and buyer-supplier relationships affects auction outcomes and the success of the auctioned projects. This PhD dissertation investigates online reverse auctions in service industries (e.g. software development, building construction). The differences between services and products (services can be more difficult to describe and require more intensive communication) challenge theories that try to explain auction outcomes. We study several aspects of auctioning service contracts: the buyer’s choice between auctions and negotiations; the contract allocation decisions in auctions; the heterogeneity of buyers’ procurement behaviour; and the effect of auction outcomes on buyer-supplier relationships and project performance during the project execution. Some of the key findings are: 1) that the buyer’s repeat exchange interaction with vendors as well as the satisfaction with a vendor’s past performance lead to the buyer’s preference for using bilateral negotiation to allocate the next project; 2) that there are five buyers’ tactics that allow to increase the likelihood of contract allocation; 3) that the outcomes of online reverse auctions can aggravate project managers’ role constraints and that project managers can use relational exchange competences to overcome these constraints. Overall, buying services through online reverse auctions is quite different from buying products. This thesis makes the first steps to develop theoretical knowledge to account for that difference

A conceptual framework for the adoption and implementation of online reverse auctions in South Africa

Digital technologies enable a deep rationalisation in the purchase of supplies between organisations, with positive cost-reducing spin-offs on wise e-procurements adoptions with savings of up to an 8-12% average to the purchases total. To this effect, web-based systems, online reverse auctions (ORAs) emerge as the most cost-efficient options, from the goods and services supply chain, as well as administration and governance perspective. ORAs are beginning to replace traditional paper-based manual procurement transactions and face to face negotiations effectively. Problem and Purpose – The project undertook to explore the level of ORAs adoption and usage by local organisations. The aim was to understand and explain the status-quo, with a goal of devising a facilitative framework for improved adoptions and use of ORAs in the South African public and private business contexts. Design/methodology/approach – The main research question How can the adoption (including implementation and use) of Online Reverse Auctions (ORAs) be improved among the private and public business enterprises in South Africa? To address this, a mixed methods approach was adopted, using the survey and interviews on selected 100 procurement professionals, executives, project managers and procurement specialists and practitioners. Findings – The study has found that ORAs should be implemented in South Africa when all suppliers are empowered to participate – the basic reasons being that they would save costs, and technology advancement simplifies and standardise processes. Furthermore, the effect of perceptions on online reverse auctions on adoption, implementation and purpose of ORA and research findings provided possible ways to improve the tool to be effective in the context of developing countries like South Africa Furthermore, findings also call for improved implementation of ORAs in South Africa. Research limitations/implications – Regulations around the procurement and SCM function in both the private and the public sector (though the private sector regulations are not as stringent and the public sector) contributed significantly on the progress and the availability of information from participants. Originality/value –The current existing models, frameworks and online reverse auction tools are mainly supporting and designed for established, mature and developed markets. It is required that appropriate tools and processes to conduct and implement online reverse auctions are necessary. Hence the newly proposed online reverse auctions conceptual framework.Ubuchwepheshe bedijithali buvumela ukulinganisa okujulile, ekuthengeni izinto phakathi kwezinhlangano, ngemiphumela emihle enciphisa izindleko ekutholweni kokuthengwa okuku-inthanethi okuhlakaniphile; ikakhulukazi, ekongeni okungaba khona okulinganiselwa ku-8% kuya ku-12% kwenani eliphelele lokuthenga. Njengezinhlelo ezisekelwe kusizindalwazi, ukuqhudelana kwabahlinzeki ku-inthanethi (ama-ORA) kuvela njengokunike amandla okonga imali, kokubili kusukela kuchungechunge lokuhlinzeka, imibono yokuphatha neyokubusa. Ngenxa yalesi sizathu, ama-ORA aseqalile ukufaka esikhundleni sezingxoxo zokuthengwa kwempahla ezisekelwe ephepheni lendabuko kanye nobuso nobuso emisebenzini yesimanjemanje yochungechunge lokuhlinzeka ngempahla kunqubo yokucabanga phambili yeNguqoko Yezimboni yesine (4IR) esekelwe ohlelweni lokuhlinzeka ngempahla emhlabeni wokuncintisana. Akumangalisi-ke ukuthi abamukeli balobu buchwepheshe obusha babonakala bebambe iqhaza ekuqhudelaneni nabangebona abamukeli emnothweni womhlaba wonke, nokuncintisana ngokwandayo. Inkinga nenjongo - Ngokusebenzisa inzuzo yokwengeza inani lezinhlelo ezizenzakalelayo ezinqubeni zokuthengwa kwempahla, umbhali wale phrojekthi wayefuna ukuqonda izinga lokwamukelwa nokusetshenziswa kwama-ORA yizinhlangano zendawo eNingizimu Afrika. Inhloso bekuwukuchaza isimo sezwe samanje. Umgomo ekugcineni kwaba ukusungula uhlaka olusizayo lokuthuthukiswa kokutholwa kanye nokusetshenziswa kwama-ORA ezimeni zamabhizinisi zikahulumeni nezizimele eNingizimu Afrika. Ukwenza/indlela yokwenza/indlela yokusebenza – Kule nqubo, kwaphakanyiswa umbuzo wocwaningo olandelayo: “Kungathuthukiswa kanjani ukwamukelwa (okuhlanganisa nokusebenza kanye nokusetshenziswa) kokuqhudelana kwabahlinzeki ku-inthanethi (ama-ORA) phakathi kwamabhizinisi azimele kanye namabhizinisi kahulumeni eNingizimu Afrika?” Ekufuneni izimpendulo, kwasetshenziswa izindlela ezixubile. Izinhlelo ze-ORA ziyingxenye yobuchwepheshe obusha lapho ukuhlaziya kwawo kungenziwa kangcono ngemibono yokwamukela ubuchwepheshe. Isifanekiso sokwamukela sobuchwepheshe (i-TAM) kanye nemibono ehlobene ngaleyo ndlela yasetshenziswa yomibili njengezingalizi zokuqoqo ukukhanya komqondo nokuhlaziya ophenyweni. Ngokwenqubo, inhlolovo kanye namasu okuxoxisana asetshenziswa ukuqoqa imininingwane yochwepheshe abakhethiwe abayi-100 bokuthenga, abaphathi, abaphathi bamaphrojekthi kanye nochwepheshe bokuthengwa kwempahla kanye nabasebenzi ezimbonini ezahlukahlukene zonkana zikahulumeni nezizimele. Okutholakele kukhomba igebe mayelana nokuqwashisa kanye nokusebenza kwezinhlaka zokwamukela nokusebenzisa ngempumelelo ama-ORA ezimbonini zikahulumeni nezizimele eNingizimu Afrika. Ukunika amandla bonke ababambiqhaza mayelana nokuqwashisa nekhono, ngakho-ke kuyaphakanyiswa kulo mbhalo wobuhlakani wokuthola iziqu. Ukuphuthuma kokuthuthukisa ubuchwepheshe be-ORA kubabambiqhaza abanenselelo yokuncintisana esimeni sezwe elisathuthuka kuyaphakanyiswa. Njengendlela yenzuzo eqenjini lephrojekthi ekuqaleni kokuthuthuka kwayo locwaningo, uhlaka oluvumayo lokusiza ukubamba iqhaza okunjalo (ukwamukelwa kanye nokusetshenziswa) kuma-ORAs ngaleyo ndlela kuhlongoziwe kokutholakele. Imikhawulo yocwaningo/imithelela - Imininingwane kulolu phenyo itholwe kusampula esikhundleni sesibalo sabantu esiphelele semikhakha kahulumeni nezimele, okusho ukuthi imibono ehlukile evela ezimeni eziyinqaba ihlala ingaqondakali, okunikeza ithuba lokucwaninga okwengeziwe ngesihloko. Okwangempela/ukubaluleka - Izifanekiso ezikhona, izinhlaka namathuluzi kubonakala kuvumelana nezimo zezimakethe ezimisiwe, ezivuthiwe nezithuthukile. Ngakho-ke amathuluzi nezinqubo ezifanele kufanele kuthuthukiswe njengokuphuthumayo ukuze kuqhutshwe futhi kusetshenziswe ukuqhudelana kwabahlinzeki ku-inthanethi ukuze kunikezwe izixazululo ezikhona kuzo zonke izindawo zokuthuthukiswa komnotho. Kungale ndlela ephusile lapho kuphakanyiswa uhlaka lomqondo olusha oluhlongozwayo ekuqhudelaneni kwabahlinzeki ku-inthanethi kulokho okutholwe yile phrojekthi yocwaningo.Didiriswa tsa theknolotsi di nolofatsa lebaka le legolo la thekisetsano ya dithoto magareng ga dikgwebo, ka dikhamphani tseo di fokotsago ditshenyagelo ka go somisa kgwebisano ye bohlale ya inthaneteng; kudukudu, ka dipolokelo tseo di akanyetswago go fihla go 8% go ya go 12% ya palomoka ya ditheko. Go swana le mananeo a inthaneteng, difantisi tsa ribese tsa inthaneteng (diORA) (mo barekisi ba phenkgisanela go reka go morekisi o tee) di laeditse go fokotsa ditshenyagalelo, go tswa go dikgopolo tsa tshepediso ya kabo, taolo le puso. Ka lebaka le, diORA di thomile go soma legatong la tsela ya tlwaelo ya ditherisano le dithekisetsano ka sebele, ka go somisa mokgwa wa sebjalebjale wo o nago le ponelopele wo o theilwego godimo ga tshepediso ya kabo mo nakong ya Rebolusene ya bo4 ya Intasteri (4IR) lefaseng la kgwebo la diphadisano. Ka gona ga go makatse ge basomisi ba theknolotsi ye e mpsha ba bonala ba le maemong a kaone go fetisa dikgwebo tseo di sa somisego mokgwa wo go kgwebisano ya lefase, le ikonoming yeo e golago ka lebelo. Bothata le morero – Ka go somisa tshedimoso ya tlaleletso ya boleng ka go somisa mananeo a khomphutha go mekgwa ya kgwebisano, mongwadi wa protseke ye o be a nyaka go lekola maemo le tshomiso ya diORA ka mekgatlo ya ka Afrika Borwa. Maikemisetso e be e le go hlalosa maemo a bjale. Tebanyo mafelelong e be e le go hlama foreimeweke ya nolofatso ya tshomiso le tiriso ye e kaonafaditswego ya diORA ka maemong a dikgwebo tsa setshaba le tsa phoraebete ka Afrika Borwa. Tlhamo/mokgwa wa nyakisiso/mokgwa – Mo go tshepediso ye, go botsisitswe potsiso ya nyakisiso ye e latelago: “Naa tiriso (go akaretswa phethagatso le tshomiso) ya difantisi tsa ribese ya inthaneteng (ORA) di ka kaonafatswa bjang go dikgwebo tsa phoraebete le tsa mmuso ka Afrika Borwa?” Ka go fihlelela dikarabo, go somisitswe mokgwa wo o kopantswego. Mananeo a ORA ke karolo ya mananeo a maswa gomme a ka sekasekwa ga bonolo ka go somisa diteori tsa mananeo a theknolotsi. Mmotlolo wa tiriso ya theknolotsi (TAM) le diteori tse di amanago le wona di somisitswe bjalo ka dilentshe tsa kgopolo le tsa tshekatsheko ya nyakisiso. Go somisitswe mokgwa wa nyakisiso ya tekolonyakisiso le dipoledisano go kgoboketsa datha go tswa go batseakarolo bao ba kgethilwego ba ditsebi tse 100, bareki ba thoto, bahlankediphethisi, balaodi ba diprotseke le ditsebi tsa theko le basomi ka diintastering tsa go fapana go ralala le mafapha a mmuso le a phoraebete. Dikutollo di laetsa tlhaelelo ya temogo le ka diforeimeweke tsa phethagatso go somisa le go phethagatsa diORA ka mafapheng a mmuso le a phoraebete ka Afrika Borwa. Go fa batseakarolo ka moka tsebo le bokgoni, go sisintswe ka thesising ye. Boitlhaganelo bja go kaonafatsa theknolotsi ya ORA go batseakarolo bao ba hlokago bokgoni go naga ye e hlabologago go a sisinywa. Bjalo ka tsela ya go tseakarolo go nyakisiso ya thuto e, dikutollo tsa nyakisiso ye di sisinya foreimeweke ye e kgontshago go nolofatsa tshomiso (tiriso le tshomiso) ya diORA. Dikiletso/Diphihlelelo tsa nyakisiso – Datha ya nyakisiso ye e fihleletswe ka mokgwa wa go sampola e sego ka go somisa basomi ba mafapha a mmuso le a phoraebete ka botlalo, se se hlalosa gore tshedimoso ya moswananosi ga se e fihlelelwe, gomme se se laetsa hlokego ya dinyakisiso tse dingwe thutong ye. Boithomelo/boleng – Mmotlolo ye e lego gona, diforeimeweke le didiriswa di laetsa di soma gabotse go maemo ao a theilwego dikgwebong tseo tse kgolo. Didiriswa le mekgwa ya ditshepetso e swanetse go kaonafatswa ka boitlhaganelo go laola le go phethagatsa difantisi tsa ribese tsa inthaneteng go tlisa ditharollo go tlhabollo ya ekonomi lefase ka bophara. Ka go realo diphihlelelo tsa protseke ya nyakisiso ye di sisinya foreimeweke ye mpsha ya difantisi tsa ribese tsa inthaneteng.Graduate School of Business LeadershipD.B.L

Internet Auction Processes and Mechanisms

The nature of E-commerce over the Internet has seen significant changes over the years. Instead of companies selling items to consumers, consumers are increasingly selling items to fellow consumers on a global-scale, and Internet auctions have been the mechanism of choice in achieving this. In fact, auctioning allows the departure from the fixed price model, which some regard as too rigid to be able to respond swiftly to varying supply and demand fluctuations and changes, and the Internet plays a pivotal role in catalysing the widespread acceptance of such a variable pricing model on a global scale. Internet auctions exhibit characteristics which are often not shared by conventional auctions, e.g. auctions of xed duration which encourage sniping (bidders submit their bids moments before the close of an auction thereby preventing other bidders from submitting counter-bids), the acceptance of multiple bids in a single auction, and a maximum threshold whereby the auction will terminate at that price point. Internet auctions have significantly greater scope incorporating algorithms of increased complexity than conventional auction procedures. In this thesis, the characteristics and properties of different Internet auction algorithms are modelled mathematically based on a series of operational assumptions which characterise the arrival rate of bids, as well as the distribution from which the private values of buyers are sampled. From this, closed-form expressions of several key performance metrics are determined, including the average selling price in a given auction, as well as the average auction duration. In cases where a seller may be selling a commodity and auctions repeat themselves with the same items for sale multiple times, the income per unit time may also be qunatified. Simulation experiments have been performed and analysed in the context of the mathematical models, and reasonable agreements are observed

The Implications of Advertising Personalization for Firms, Consumers, and Ad Platforms

The personalization of advertising offers firms tremendous potential. If done right, firms can address consumers with more relevant ads, leading to more positive consumer responses. Nevertheless, firms are struggling with how to design personalization strategies and face the challenge to correctly assess advertising effectiveness. With this research, we advance the understanding of advertising personalization and its implications for firms, consumers, and ad platforms. With the help of a large-scale field experiment, we present evidence for how firms should design their personalization strategies. We find that high levels of personalization specificity pay off for firms. At the same time, socially targeting personalized ads, where names of consumers' friends are included in the ad text, leads to less positive consumer responses. To advance the understanding of privacy concerns in advertising personalization, we conduct a lab experiment using eye tracking technology. Our findings reveal that firms cannot use intrusive ads that cause privacy concerns to attract consumers' attention. Such a strategy is harmful as it decreases consumers' overall attention towards ads, eventually leading to less positive consumer responses. An examination of contracts between firms and ad platforms exposes that these contracts might not be in the economic interest of firms. We conduct a large field experiment and our analysis reveals that currently implemented contracts between ad platforms and firms lead to an incentive misalignment that is harmful for firms. While ads generally increase consumers' likelihood to purchase, firms pay more for ads that are not providing higher value to them

Organization based multiagent architecture for distributed environments

[EN]Distributed environments represent a complex field in which applied solutions should be flexible and include significant adaptation capabilities. These environments are related to problems where multiple users and devices may interact, and where simple and local solutions could possibly generate good results, but may not be effective with regards to use and interaction. There are many techniques that can be employed to face this kind of problems, from CORBA to multi-agent systems, passing by web-services and SOA, among others. All those methodologies have their advantages and disadvantages that are properly analyzed in this documents, to finally explain the new architecture presented as a solution for distributed environment problems. The new architecture for solving complex solutions in distributed environments presented here is called OBaMADE: Organization Based Multiagent Architecture for Distributed Environments. It is a multiagent architecture based on the organizations of agents paradigm, where the agents in the architecture are structured into organizations to improve their organizational capabilities. The reasoning power of the architecture is based on the Case-Based Reasoning methology, being implemented in a internal organization that uses agents to create services to solve the external request made by the users. The OBaMADE architecture has been successfully applied to two different case studies where its prediction capabilities have been properly checked. Those case studies have showed optimistic results and, being complex systems, have demonstrated the abstraction and generalizations capabilities of the architecture. Nevertheless OBaMADE is intended to be able to solve much other kind of problems in distributed environments scenarios. It should be applied to other varieties of situations and to other knowledge fields to fully develop its potencial.[ES]Los entornos distribuidos representan un campo de conocimiento complejo en el que las soluciones a aplicar deben ser flexibles y deben contar con gran capacidad de adaptación. Este tipo de entornos está normalmente relacionado con problemas donde varios usuarios y dispositivos entran en juego. Para solucionar dichos problemas, pueden utilizarse sistemas locales que, aunque ofrezcan buenos resultados en términos de calidad de los mismos, no son tan efectivos en cuanto a la interacción y posibilidades de uso. Existen múltiples técnicas que pueden ser empleadas para resolver este tipo de problemas, desde CORBA a sistemas multiagente, pasando por servicios web y SOA, entre otros. Todas estas mitologías tienen sus ventajas e inconvenientes, que se analizan en este documento, para explicar, finalmente, la nueva arquitectura presentada como una solución para los problemas generados en entornos distribuidos. La nueva arquitectura aquí se llama OBaMADE, que es el acrónimo del inglés Organization Based Multiagent Architecture for Distributed Environments (Arquitectura Multiagente Basada en Organizaciones para Entornos Distribuidos). Se trata de una arquitectura multiagente basasa en el paradigma de las organizaciones de agente, donde los agentes que forman parte de la arquitectura se estructuran en organizaciones para mejorar sus capacidades organizativas. La capacidad de razonamiento de la arquitectura está basada en la metodología de razonamiento basado en casos, que se ha implementado en una de las organizaciones internas de la arquitectura por medio de agentes que crean servicios que responden a las solicitudes externas de los usuarios. La arquitectura OBaMADE se ha aplicado de forma exitosa a dos casos de estudio diferentes, en los que se han demostrado sus capacidades predictivas. Aplicando OBaMADE a estos casos de estudio se han obtenido resultados esperanzadores y, al ser sistemas complejos, se han demostrado las capacidades tanto de abstracción como de generalización de la arquitectura presentada. Sin embargo, esta arquitectura está diseñada para poder ser aplicada a más tipo de problemas de entornos distribuidos. Debe ser aplicada a más variadas situaciones y a otros campos de conocimiento para desarrollar completamente el potencial de esta arquitectura