Towards A Modelling Tool For Designing Control Mechanisms In Network Organisations

Contracts and organizational controls to monitor contract compliance are important tools to enhance trust in a fair business transaction in network organisations and electronic commerce in general. In this paper, we propose a design methodology for such contracts and supporting controls, utilizing inter-organisational value models. We argue that a framework for designing control mechanisms should include three steps: design of an inter-organizational value model, analysis of possible violations of contractual obligations underlying this value model, and design of control mechanisms to detect or prevent such violations. It is shown how the e-value methodology, which was developed to design business value models, can be extended to model obligations of parties. We use concepts and ideas from deontic logic (the logic of obligations and permissions) to develop an extension of e-value called e-value+. The e-value+ approach is a design tool for modelling violations of obligations and control mechanisms to prevent and correct these violations, which can be used in contract drafting and contingency planning for inter-organisational collaboration in network organisations. Vera Kartseva, Jaap Gordijn, Yao-Hua Tan