Organizational semiotics: A normative agent-based approach to VE modelling

Organizational Semiotics is the branch of Semiotics that studies the application of the Theory of Signs in organizational contexts. Organizations are based upon co-coordinated patterns of behavior, including social norms. To achieve the required efficacy, an organization may use both norms and communication to co-ordinate the different agents involved in organizational behavior. The formalization of normative agent behavior can be done using Deontic Agency Logic. The implementation can be done using agent-oriented programming. We propose to combine Ontology Charts, Norm Analysis, Deontic Agency Logic and Agent-Oriented Programming in order to create normative agent-based models of the structure and the dynamics of Virtual Enterprises (VE). This approach seems to be more resistant to organizational change than pure technology-oriented approaches.