Daniel J. Veit

Trading grid services - a multi-attribute combinatorial approach

Abstract The Grid is a promising technology for providing access to distributed high-end computational capabilities. Thus, computational tasks can be performed spontaneously by other resources in the Grid that are not under the user’s control. However, one of the key problems in the Grid is deciding which jobs are to be allocated to which resources at what time. In this context, the use of market mechanisms for scheduling and allocating Grid resources is a promising approach toward solving these problems. This paper proposes an auction mechanism for allocating and scheduling computer resources such as processors or storage space which have multiple quality attributes. The mechanism is evaluated according to its economic and computational performance as well as its practical applicability by means of a simulation.

Business Models: An Information Systems Research Agenda

The business model concept, although a relatively new topic for research, has garnered growing attention over the past decade. Whilst it has been robustly defined, the concept has so far attracted very little substantive research. In the context of the wide-spread digitization of businesses and society at large, the logic inherent in a business model has become critical for business success and, hence, a focus for academic inquiry. The business model concept is identified as the missing link between business strategy, processes, and Information Technology (IT). The authors argue that the BISE community offers distinct and unique competencies (e.g., translating business strategies into IT systems, managing business and IT processes, etc.) that can be harnessed for significant research contributions to this field. Within this research gap three distinct streams are delineated, namely, business models in IT industries, IT enabled or digital business models, and IT support for developing and managing business models. For these streams, the current state of the art, suggest critical research questions, and suitable research methodologies are outlined.

Matchmaking for autonomous agents in electronic marketplaces

Matchmaking is the process of mediating demand and supply based on profile information. Matchmaking plays a crucial role in agent-based electronic marketplaces: the problem to be solved is to find the most appropriate agents, products, or services for a task, negotiation, or market transaction. Most real-world problems require multidimensional matchmaking, i. e., the ability to combine various dimensions of decision-making to define an overall solution to a matchmaking problem, requiring the interplay of multiple matchmaking algorithms. In addition, in order to be applicable for real-world applications, the matchmaking component must be easily integrated into standard industrial marketplace platforms. The work described in this work aims at deploying agent- based matchmaking for industrial electronic business applications. The main contributions of this work are the following: (i) we provide a configurable framework called GRAPPA (Generic Request Architecture for Passive Provider Agents) which is designed to be adapted to electronic marketplace applications. Using GRAPPA, system designers can easily specify demand and supply profiles as XML objects; (ii) within GRAPPA we provide an extensible library of matchmaking functions (building blocks) that can be used for rapid development of matchmaking solutions that include standard information retrieval algorithms.

Catallaxy-based Grid markets

Grid computing has recently become an important paradigm for managing computationally demanding applications, composed of a collection of services. The dynamic discovery of services, and the selection of a particular service instance providing the best value out of the discovered alternatives, poses a complex multi-attribute n:m allocation decision problem, which is often solved using a centralized resource broker. To manage complexity, this article proposes a two-layer architecture for service discovery in such Application Layer Networks (ALN). The first layer consists of a service market in which complex services are translated to a set of basic services, which are distinguished by price and availability. The second layer provides an allocation of services to appropriate resources in order to enact the specified services. This framework comprises the foundations for a later comparison of centralized and decentralized market mechanisms for allocation of services and resources in ALNs and Grids.

Simulating the dynamics in two-settlement electricity markets via an agent-based approach

Abstract This paper studies the dynamics in two-settlement electricity markets. In these markets, energy producers sign strategic forward contracts in the forward market, and engage in spatial oligopolistic competition in the spot market. We develop an agent-based model for simulating the outcomes of such markets. Numerical simulations imply that the access to the forward market leads to more competitive behaviors of the suppliers in the spot market, and thus to lower spot energy prices.

The Impact of Endogenous Motivations on Adoption of IT-Enabled Services The Case of Transformative Services in the Energy Sector

Transformative services represent a crucial topic in future service research. Particularly in the energy sector, consumer adoption of transformative—often IT-enabled—services is essential to increased environmental sustainability. As adopting these services increases both individual and collective well-being, research has to delve more deeply into the origins of consumers’ motivations. For this reason, this study aims at augmenting the understanding of how different types of motivation determine consumers’ intention to adopt transformative services. The proposed model integrates the theory of planned behavior and the self-determination theory and is tested with survey data gathered from 462 users and 537 nonusers of home energy management services. Results indicate that consumers’ motivations are major direct determinants of intentions to adopt. While this finding notably holds when consumers perceive the adoption as self-determined and internalize associated values such as environmentalism, motivations based on external rewards and feelings of compulsion matter to a lesser extent. A comparison of users and nonusers reveals important differences in motivation, in particular that extrinsic motivations tend to be more relevant for nonusers than for users.

Analyzing interrelated markets in the electricity sector — The case of wholesale power trading in Germany

This paper reports on results from an agent-based simulation model that comprises three interrelated markets in the electricity sector: a day-ahead electricity market, a market for balancing power, and a carbon exchange for CO2 emission allowances. Agents seek to optimize trading strategies over the two electricity markets through reinforcement learning; they also integrate market results from emissions trading into their reasoning. Simulation outcomes show that the model is able to closely reproduce observed prices at the German power markets for the analysis period of 2006. The model is thus applicable for analyzing different market designs in order to derive evidence for policy advice; one example for such an analysis is given in this contribution.

Multi-Dimensional Matchmaking for Electronic Markets

Matchmaking is the process of mediating demand and supply in markets based on profile information. In electronic marketplaces and in negotiations, matchmaking plays a key role. The issue is to find the most appropriate agent for a task, the best bid in a multi-attribute auction, or the best present good for a request. In most real-world markets, multi-dimensional matchmaking is required, i.e., the ability to combine different dimensions and sub-dimensions of decision making to define an overall relevance. This task requires the interplay of multiple matchmaking algorithms. Another central aspect is the possibility to design relevance computation processes for multi-attribute objects easily. The realization of this issue makes multi-dimensional matchmaking processes to be easily integrated into industrial marketplace solutions. The work described in this paper aims on general multi-dimensional matchmaking objectives. These matchmaking objectives are implemented and deployed for industrial applications. The main contributions of this paper are: (i) the definition of multi-dimensional matchmaking in general; (ii) an implementation of configurable multi-dimensional matchmaking as a application dependent EJB TM component, which is configurable using XML; (iii) the definition and implementation of different relevance (i.e., distance) functions for general usage and specific domains; (iv) the description of a process guiding application developers to design matchmaking applications (enterprise java beans); and (v) a report on experiences deploying the EJB matchmaker for the human resource area within a large-scale agent-based software.

Geschäftsmodelle - Eine Forschungsagenda für die Wirtschaftsinformatik.

Obwohl das Geschaftsmodellkonzept ein noch relativ junges Forschungsgebiet ist, hat es im letzten Jahrzehnt zunehmend an Beachtung gewonnen. Trotz einer Vielzahl grundlegender Definitionen des Geschaftsmodellkonzepts hat es bislang dennoch nur sehr wenig bedeutende Forschung angezogen. Im Kontext der weit verbreiteten und kontinuierlichen Digitalisierung von Unternehmen sowie der Gesellschaft als Ganzes wurde die in einem Geschaftsmodell (GM) enthaltene Logik kritisch fur den Geschaftserfolg und somit ein Fokus fur akademische Forschung. In unserem Beitrag betrachten wir das Geschaftsmodellkonzept als ein fehlendes Bindeglied zwischen der Strategie und den Geschaftsprozessen. Wir argumentieren, dass die Wirtschaftsinformatik-Gemeinschaft spezifische und einzigartige Kompetenzen bietet (z. B. Ubertragung von Geschaftsstrategien in IT-Systeme, Management von Unternehmen und IT-Prozessen, etc.), die fur bedeutende Forschungsbeitrage auf diesem Gebiet genutzt werden konnen. Innerhalb dieser Forschungslucke grenzen wir drei wesentliche Forschungsschwerpunkte ab: Geschaftsmodelle in der IT-Industrie; durch IT ermoglichte oder digitale Geschaftsmodelle; sowie IT-Support fur die Entwicklung und das Management von Geschaftsmodellen. Fur diese Forschungsfragen skizzieren wir den State of the Art sowie kritische Forschungsfragen und schlagen passende Forschungsmethoden fur deren Beantwortung vor.

Studying the effects of CO2 emissions trading on the electricity market: A multi-agent-based approach

In this paper, we present a basic approach for modeling electricity and emissions markets under the paradigm of agent-based computational economics (ACE). Different market players will be modeled as independent entities using autonomous software agents; they operate and communicate independently on power markets and on markets for emission allowances. The agent types involved and their relationships are described. The aim of the model is to investigate the interplay between the market players, with a focus lying on the dynamics in a market for CO2 emission allowances and its effects on the electricity markets. Simulations with this model will enable us to draw conclusions about the economic performance of different possible emissions trading design options