A Core Broking Model for E-Markets

Coalitions, which allow traders to form teams, can sometimes accomplish tasks more efficiently than individuals. The core has become a popular solution concept in economic applications for researchers in Computer Science, because it provides a way to find stable sets. However, its problems hinder researchers from applying it to a real world market. This paper proposes a new Core Broking Model (CBM), which is based on the core and adopts some other solution concepts to resolve group trading problems in e-markets. It involves bundle selling of composite services from several service providers, offering amount discounts in group buying in the e-marketplace. The CBM successfully creates a win-win-win situation for customers, providers and brokers in e-markets. The comparison between the results of the new model and the core shows that the CBM is superior to the core when applied in e-markets. The results of the simulation presented in this paper demonstrate that the CBM can attract customers and deal with online group trading problems in a large coalition. An extensive evaluation of the CBM has been made and shows that it is effective and efficient.