The formation of virtual organizations by means of electronic institutions in a 3D e-Tourism environment

In this article we showcase an agent-mediated B2C and B2B e-Marketplace. This e-Marketplace is part of the social and immersive 3D e-Tourism environment “Itchy Feet”. We give an overview of the framework that forms the basis of the e-Marketplace and show how it is used to create B2C-, B2B- and Virtu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Information sciences 2010-09, Vol.180 (17), p.3157-3169
Main Authors:	Gärtner, Markus, Seidel, Ingo, Froschauer, Josef, Berger, Helmut
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	3D virtual world Business Customers e-Commerce e-Marketplace e-Tourism Electronic institutions Electronics Expert systems Feet Multi-agent system Showcases Software agents Three dimensional Virtual organization Virtual organizations
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	In this article we showcase an agent-mediated B2C and B2B e-Marketplace. This e-Marketplace is part of the social and immersive 3D e-Tourism environment “Itchy Feet”. We give an overview of the framework that forms the basis of the e-Marketplace and show how it is used to create B2C-, B2B- and Virtual Organizations that are visualized in a 3D Virtual World. This interface provides users with an intuitive and easy way to interact with humans and software agents by means of a 3D Virtual World. The business logic is realized by autonomous software agents offering services to customers. The e-Marketplace is regulated by Electronic Institutions to ensure that all participants adhere to the rules of the market. The article is concluded with a detailed discussion on bridging the gaps between Multi-Agent Systems and 3D Virtual Worlds and the preliminary results of a conducted usability study of “Itchy Feet”.
ISSN:	0020-0255 1872-6291