Our approach to this question is based on the following definition of the governance of coalitions: A coalition C is a set {E1,E2,...,En} of enterprises, which interoperate under an ensemble of policies [Pc, {Pi}], where Pc is the coalition policy that governs the coalition as a whole, and Pi is the local policy of enterprise Ei (for each i), which governs its participation in the coalition. This means, in particular, that every interaction between an agent Xi of enterprise Ei and an agent Xj of Ej must comply with the local policies Pi and Pj, as well as with the coalition policy Pc.
We also require that the policy-ensemble [Pc, {Pi}] of a coalition would satisfy the following principle of flexibility: Each local policy Pi can be defined and changed independently of other local policies in this ensemble, and without any knowledge of them.
We will describe a regulatory mechanism for coalitions, which provides for
efficient and decentralized enforcement of a wide range of policies that
might govern a coalition, and which satisfies our principle of
flexibility.
Paper Available at:
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