Co-operation, contracts, contractual match-making and binding

Deals with the automation of parts of the process of setting up inter-organisational co-operations by electronic means. The paper presents a high-level model of the life-cycle of a co-operation between autonomous organisations. Contracts and their possible computer representations are investigated with a view towards implementing the contractual match-making and contractual binding stages of the life-cycle in a dynamic and rapid fashion. The mechanisms and processes which are necessary if these stages are to be automated are then described. Extensions to the ODP/CORBA trading service are shown to be necessary if trading is to be used in automating contractual match-making and binding. These extensions are described and it is shown how they can be exploited together with interception techniques for setting up the link between the co-operating organisations. These techniques can also be used to provide a range of decision-making and resource-allocation options concerning the co-operation set-up.