Agreement negotiation support in virtual organisation 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 organisation (VO) appears particularly well suited. The possibility of rapidly forming a VO to respond to a business or collaboration opportunity gives companies an expression of agility and survival mechanisms in the face of market turbulence. Nevertheless, in the process of VO 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' rights 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.