A Fuzzy Logic System for Bargaining in Information Markets

Abstract

Future Web business models involve virtual environments where entities interact in order to sell or buy information goods. Such environments are known as Information Markets (IMs). Intelligent agents are used in IMs for representing buyers or information providers (sellers). We focus on the decisions taken by the buyer in the purchase negotiation process with sellers. We propose a reasoning mechanism on the offers (prices of information goods) issued by sellers based on fuzzy logic. The buyer’s knowledge on the negotiation process is modeled through fuzzy sets. We propose a fuzzy inference engine dealing with the decisions that the buyer takes on each stage of the negotiation process. The outcome of the proposed reasoning method indicates whether the buyer should accept or reject the sellers’ offers. Our findings are very promising for the efficiency of automated transactions undertaken by intelligent agents.