A Contract-Based Architecture for Business Networks

  • Authors:
  • Peter Rittgen

  • Affiliations:
  • Economics and Business Administration, Frankfurt University, Germany

  • Venue:
  • International Journal of Electronic Commerce
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

Contracts coordinate the interactions between organizations in a business network. Conventional frame contracts often result in ambiguous agreements with operational details unspecified, making it hard to coordinate the network effectively and efficiently. This paper suggests a structured method for designing agreements and ensuring that their terms are observed in business transactions. Based on the assumption that governing a business network means managing the workflow between the member organizations, the contract consists primarily of process models at different levels of detail. A method is proposed for negotiating these models between the member organizations of the network and enacting them with the help of an interorganizational workflow system.