Individualized Quality-Differentiated Services: A Market Model and Comparison of Negotiation Mechanisms

Individualized services are common in distributed computing systems: Consumers demand custom solutions and service providers tailor their offering. In negotiating a service contract, providers and consumers frequently fail in identifying the optimal combination of non-functional properties and price. A key reason is that negotiators simultaneously try to create and Claim value leading to strategic bidding and inefficient outcomes. We present a theoretical comparison of three negotiation mechanisms in the scenario of self-interested, rational agents bilaterally negotiating over Service quality and price. Two mechanisms are stylized representations of mechanisms commonly used in theory and practice, one is newly introduced. The mechanisms are characterized in terms of truthfulness of agents, efficiency of outcomes, and distribution of welfare. The analysis is an extension to the field of bilateral multi-attribute negotiations, relevant for researchers and practitioners designing markets for individualized IT services and for human and computer agents acting in such markets

Agent-based model of citizen energy communities used to negotiate bilateral contracts in electricity markets

ABSTRACT: The worldwide targets for carbon-neutral societies increased the penetration of distributed generation and storage. Smart cities now play a key role in achieving these targets by considering the alliances of their demand and supply assets as local citizen energy communities. These communities need to have enough weight to trade electricity in wholesale markets. Trading of electricity can be done in spot markets or by bilateral contracts involving customers and suppliers. This paper is devoted to bilateral contracting, which is modeled as a negotiation process involving an iterative exchange of offers and counter-offers. This article focuses on local citizen energy communities. Specifically, it presents team and single-agent negotiation models, where each member has its sets of strategies and tactics and also its decision model. Community agents are equipped with intra-team strategies and decision protocols. To evaluate the benefits of CECs, models of both coalition formation and management have been adapted. This paper also describes a case study on forward bilateral contracts, involving a retailer agent and three different types of citizen energy communities. The results demonstrate the benefits of CECs during the negotiation of private bilateral contracts of electricity. Furthermore, they also demonstrate that in the case of using a representative strategy, the selection of the mediator may be critical for achieving a good deal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Service-oriented middleware for managing inter-enterprise collaborations

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Characterization of the clients retention in the tlecommunications companies

The ability of a company to be able to do a precisely churn prediction, so it can act on it, is paramount. For this reason, Deloitte addressed me the challenge of characterizing the client’s retention in the telecom companies. To do so, it was created a comprehensive tool that enables Deloitte to evaluate the churn management maturity level of a telecom operator and highlight its strengths and weaknesses. The development of this matrix was based on a depth churn research, a market research based on 40 interviews and 2 focus group and the valuable feedback from Deloitte consultants

Delegation to autonomous agents promotes cooperation in collective-risk dilemmas

Home assistant chat-bots, self-driving cars, drones or automated negotiations are some of the several examples of autonomous (artificial) agents that have pervaded our society. These agents enable the automation of multiple tasks, saving time and (human) effort. However, their presence in social settings raises the need for a better understanding of their effect on social interactions and how they may be used to enhance cooperation towards the public good, instead of hindering it. To this end, we present an experimental study of human delegation to autonomous agents and hybrid human-agent interactions centered on a public goods dilemma shaped by a collective risk. Our aim to understand experimentally whether the presence of autonomous agents has a positive or negative impact on social behaviour, fairness and cooperation in such a dilemma. Our results show that cooperation increases when participants delegate their actions to an artificial agent that plays on their behalf. Yet, this positive effect is reduced when humans interact in hybrid human-agent groups. Finally, we show that humans are biased towards agent behaviour, assuming that they will contribute less to the collective effort

Negotiating with a logical-linguistic protocol in a dialogical framework

This book is the result of years of reflection. Some time ago, while working in commodities, the author felt how difficult it was to decide the order in which to use arguments during a negotiation process. What would happen if we translated the arguments into cards and played them according to the rules of the Bridge game? The results were impressive. There was potential for improvement in the negotiation process. The investigation went deeper, exploring players, cards, deals and the information concealed in the players´ announcements, in the cards and in the deals. This new angle brought the research to NeuroLinguistic Patterns and cryptic languages, such as Russian Cards. In the following pages, the author shares her discovery of a new application for Logical Dialogues: Negotiations, tackled from basic linguistic structures placed under a dialogue form as a cognitive system which ‘understands’ natural language, with the aim to solve conflicts and even to serve peace

Famel : a case study on brand revival strategies

Famel’s motorcycles have been a part of Portuguese motorized history for over 50 years. Its models are iconic symbols of our culture and way of living. For motorcycle lovers, to hear its noise and see the smoke after it passes by, symbolizes well spent afternoons with friends in town’s coffee shops, countryside strolls and visiting relatives, while growing up. After the announcements of its bankruptcy in 2002, for some, it was the end of an historic cycle, which made Portuguese proud of having a motorized brand they could call their own. In 2014, Joel Sousa, an automotive engineer, saw the opportunity and value Famel brand had, and acquired the rights of the brand. The thought of having back again a motorized Portuguese brand, and one such as iconic as Famel, filled the imagination of motorized vehicles lovers with expectations and nostalgic feelings. The buzz generated was enormous, as well the positive feedback. Joel responsibilities and expectations were high but he knew what he had to do. To support a successful brand revival, it was essential, at is early stages, to develop a strategy based on market characteristics and consumer exigencies. For this, the focus of this thesis was to develop the STP (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) that will be the foundation for all future strategic decisions. Results showed that Famel’s brand equity could be crucial for the success of this revitalization, as long it can be supported by a deep market analysis that will help sustain future strategic decisions.As motas Famel fazem parte da história motorizada portuguesa há mais de 50 anos. Os modelos tornaram-se símbolos icónicos da nossa cultura e forma de vida. Para alguns aficionados, ouvir o barulho ou ver o fumo característico que as Famel deixam ao passar, significa tardes bem passadas com amigos no café da aldeia, passeios pelo campo ou visitas a familiares enquanto cresciam. Quando foi anunciado o fim da empresa em 2002, para alguns foi o fim de um ciclo, que nos deixava orgulhosos por ter uma marca que pudéssemos considerar Nossa. Em 2014, Joel Sousa, um engenheiro automóvel, reconheceu a oportunidade e o valor que a Famel tinha e adquiriu os direitos da marca. A prepectiva de voltar a ter uma marca motorizada Portuguesa, ainda por cima, tão icónica com a Famel, encheu a imaginação dos aficionados com expectativas e sentimentos de nostalgia. O burburinho gerado e o feedback positivos foram enormes. As expectativas eram grandes, mas o Joel sabia o que tinha que fazer. Para sustentar uma revitalização da Famel era essencial, numa fase inicial, elaborar uma estratégia que tivesse em conta as características do mercado e do consumidor. Por isso o foco desta dissertação foi desenvolver a segmentação, o consumidor alvo e o posicionamento que vão ser a base para futuras decisões estratégicas. A pesquisa mostra que o valor da marca pode ser um fator determinante para o sucesso da revitalização e de futuras decisões estratégicas desde que suportados pelas informações adquiridas na análise do mercado

From trading to eCommunity management : responding to social and contractual challenges

"The increasing pressure for enterprises to join into agile business networks is changing the requirements on the enterprise computing systems. The supporting infrastructure is increasingly required to provide common facilities and societal infrastructure services to support the lifecycle of loosely-coupled, eContract-governed business networks. The required facilities include selection of those autonomously administered business services that the enterprises are prepared to provide and use, contract negotiations, and furthermore, monitoring of the contracted behaviour with potential for breach management. The essential change is in the requirement of a clear mapping between business-level concepts and the automation support for them. Our work has focused on developing B2B middleware to address the above challenges; however, the architecture is not feasible without management facilities for trust-aware decisions for entering business networks and interacting within them. This paper discusses how trust-based decisions are supported and positioned in the B2B middleware.""The increasing pressure for enterprises to join into agile business networks is changing the requirements on the enterprise computing systems. The supporting infrastructure is increasingly required to provide common facilities and societal infrastructure services to support the lifecycle of loosely-coupled, eContract-governed business networks. The required facilities include selection of those autonomously administered business services that the enterprises are prepared to provide and use, contract negotiations, and furthermore, monitoring of the contracted behaviour with potential for breach management. The essential change is in the requirement of a clear mapping between business-level concepts and the automation support for them. Our work has focused on developing B2B middleware to address the above challenges; however, the architecture is not feasible without management facilities for trust-aware decisions for entering business networks and interacting within them. This paper discusses how trust-based decisions are supported and positioned in the B2B middleware.""The increasing pressure for enterprises to join into agile business networks is changing the requirements on the enterprise computing systems. The supporting infrastructure is increasingly required to provide common facilities and societal infrastructure services to support the lifecycle of loosely-coupled, eContract-governed business networks. The required facilities include selection of those autonomously administered business services that the enterprises are prepared to provide and use, contract negotiations, and furthermore, monitoring of the contracted behaviour with potential for breach management. The essential change is in the requirement of a clear mapping between business-level concepts and the automation support for them. Our work has focused on developing B2B middleware to address the above challenges; however, the architecture is not feasible without management facilities for trust-aware decisions for entering business networks and interacting within them. This paper discusses how trust-based decisions are supported and positioned in the B2B middleware."Peer reviewe