Contract Negotiation in E-marketplaces: A Model Based on Dependency Relations

E-transactions via shopping agents constitute a promising opportunity in the e-markets. In this article we will discuss the problem of contract negotiation in e-marketplaces. We succinctly present an overview of protocols commonly used to implement negotiation in e-markets. An analysis of the interaction process within e-markets according to different situation of individual and joint profit/cost is presented. We also present a case study of a marketplace for e-services using dependency relations within the negotiation process. The experimental results of this negotiation model show that a combination of utility functions and dependency relations increase the number of contacts and reduce the differences between agents’ individual profit. Finally, we conclude the article with the introduction of some potential research problems related to e-markets, which will be explored within future extensions of this work.