Modeling agent negotiation via fuzzy constraints in e-business

In e-business, disputes between two or more parties arise for various reasons and involve different issues. Thus, resolution of these disputes frequently relies on some form of negotiation. This article presents a general problem-solving framework for modeling multi-issue multilateral agent negotiation using fuzzy constraints in e-business. Fuzzy constraints are thus used not only to define each agent's demands involving human concepts, but also to represent the relationships among agents. A concession strategy, based on fuzzy constraint-based problem-solving, is proposed to relax demands, and a trade-off strategy is presented to evaluate existing alternatives. This approach provides a systematic method for reaching an agreement that benefits all agents with a high satisfaction degree of constraints. Meanwhile, by applying the method, agents can move toward an agreement more quickly, because their search focuses only on the feasible solution space. An example application to negotiate an insurance policy among agents is provided to demonstrate the usefulness and effectiveness of the proposed framework.