Agreement negotiation support in VO creation – an illustrative case

In the actual market conditions, where it is essential to rapidly respond to business opportunities that might emerge, the concept of virtual organization appears particularly well-suited. The possibility of rapidly forming a virtual organization to respond to a business or collaboration opportunity gives companies an expression of agility and survival mechanisms in face of the market turbulence. Nevertheless, in the process of virtual organization creation, the negotiation among partners is essential. It is of extreme importance to have an environment where all potential partners can come together and negotiate the necessary topics towards an agreement to regulate the consortium behaviour. Through this environment it should be possible to conduct and manage the VO negotiation process, reach agreements and commitments among partners, enclose necessary documentation, specify partners’ right and duties, etc. To accomplish such environment, a negotiation wizard is proposed. An illustrative scenario of an agreement negotiation in a multicultural context is presented showing the applicability of the wizard.