Search results

The increasing need to access and elaborate dynamic and heterogeneous information sources distributed over the Internet calls for new models and paradigms for application design and development. The mobile agent paradigm promotes the design of applications where agents roam through Internet sites to locally access and elaborate information and resources, possibly co‐operating with each other. Focuses on mobile agent co‐ordination, and presents the TuCSoN co‐ordination model for Internet applications based on mobile information agents. TuCSoN exploits a notion of local tuple‐based interaction space, called a tuple centre. A tuple centre is a tuple space enhanced with the capability of programming its behaviour in response to communication events. This enables properties to be embedded into the interaction space, and a mobile agent to be designed independently of the peculiarities of the information sources. Several issues critical to Internet applications can then be charged on tuple centres transparently to agents. The effectiveness of the TuCSoN model is first shown by means of an application example in the area of Internet information retrieval, then discussed in the context of workflow management and electronic commerce.

From the theoretical perspectives of both multi-agent systems and smart business networks, empirical studies analyzing agent-based inter-organizational systems (ABIOS) in a real-life business setting are rare. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of ABIOS on the performance of business networks.

This study presents a theoretical conceptual model portraying the influence of ABIOS on clients’ coordination structure and information architecture; and the impact of those structural alterations on business network performance in terms of the coordination, agility, and informational performances. To validate the model, a cross-case analysis was conducted in three logistics cases, namely, warehousing, freight forwarding, and intermodal transportation.

The application of ABIOS requires adjustments to the information architecture or the coordination structure, or both. Subsequently, those structural adjustments will stimulate improvements in the coordination, agility, and informational performances.

The assessment of the clients’ performance improvement is done at the company level not at an aggregate network level. Moreover, the study only covers cases from the logistics sector.

This study explains the structural consequences of ABIOS applications. The adoption of an inter-organizational system is a strategic decision that requires support from multi-stakeholders. While the applications of ABIOS can offer performance improvement opportunities, adjustments must be made to the existing coordination structure or the information architecture, or both.

This study contributes to the smart business network literature and the ABIOS literature by presenting a validated conceptual model explaining the interplay among ABIOS, the coordination structure, informational structure, and business network performance, namely, the coordination, agility, and informational performances.