Modeling Processes for Managing Reputation Information - A Petri Net Approach

Abstract

Electronic networks bear various potentials often limited through information asymmetries and opportunism in inter-organizational (business) processes. To reduce uncertainties when selecting trustful partners, qualitative goods, and other objects we propose a concept for a so-called "reputation information management system" that is demand-driven and process-based. Offering decision support by providing reputation information helps reducing uncertainties in virtual environments. However, instead of focusing on technical aspects of generating and managing reputation information we concentrate on modeling the underlying processes. Networked processes and exchange documents (e.g., reputation information reports) are modeled by using a variant of high-level Petri nets, so-called XML nets. XML nets allow for an integrated modeling of the processes and the process relevant XML documents. Due to their formal foundation, XML nets exhibit potentials for analyzing purposes and for the direct execution by a respective workflow engine.