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Towards multi-agent electronic marketplaces: what is there and what is missing?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2003

KARL KURBEL
Affiliation:
Business Informatics, Europe University Viadrina, POB 1786, D-15207 Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. e-mail: kurbel@euv-frankfurt-o.de
IOURI LOUTCHKO
Affiliation:
Business Informatics, Europe University Viadrina, POB 1786, D-15207 Frankfurt (Oder), Germany. e-mail: loutchko@euv-frankfurt-o.de

Abstract

This paper gives an overview of electronic marketplaces which employ agent technology or similar techniques. Special attention is given to negotiation issues. A classification scheme for competitive negotiation depending on the type of the marketplace (business-to-business, business-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer) and on the range of players (1:1, 1:n and n:m) is introduced. Furthermore, we distinguish between one-issue and multi-issue negotiation, and we consider crisp and fuzzy constraints on either negotiating side. Several existing electronic marketplaces and prototypes of marketplaces are discussed with respect to the classification schema. Our analysis shows that agent-based e-marketplaces are a promising area of e-commerce but they are still far away from real marketplaces. In conclusion we formulate some challenges for further research in the field of multi-agent electronic marketplaces with negotiation between agents.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

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