The purpose of this thesis is to analyse, assess and evaluate the potential of commercial applica-tions of artificial intelligence in electronic businesses. Therefore the main research question of this paper is whether artificial intelligence is reasonably applicable in Internet-related busi-nesses, first in terms of effectiveness and second in terms of efficiency. In the assessment the application of artificial intelligence in electronic businesses is represented by the employment of intelligent agents. In harmony with the major research question emphasized above, the paper provides a thorough discussion about the economic impact of the most common and relevant application types of intelligent agents on electronic commerce environments. In addition the driving underlying technologies of intelligent agents are analysed with respect to artificial intelligence techniques and methods, and current standardisation efforts.
The assessment itself constitutes of theoretical and practical instruments that measure the com-mercial applicability of artificial intelligence in electronic businesses. First, the effectiveness of employing intelligent agents will be measured with a cost-benefit analysis to prove whether it is the right thing to do for an electronic business. Second, the efficiency of such an application will be assessed with a detailed SWOT-Analysis in order to determine whether employed agents do their job right. Finally, the results from a range of expert interviews with dominating devel-opers in the field of intelligent systems technology will be integrated into the assessment. Expert interviews as a research method seem to be appropriate for this assessment as they investigate the phenomenon within its real-life context. Furthermore they extend experience or add strength to what is already known through previous research. In a final summary and evaluation the answer to the given research question is provided. By the end of the thesis, the reader should have gained a strong comprehension of the linkages between electronic commerce and intelligent agents and should understand the resulting implications of the technology’s application on electronic businesses.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Problem Statement
1.2 Scope of the thesis
1.3 Course of the investigation
2 Intelligent Electronic Business
2.1 The need for intelligent system technologies
2.2 Mediators in traditional and electronic markets
2.3 Consumer and buyer behaviour in electronic commerce
3 Artificial Intelligence in Electronic Commerce
3.1 Artificial Intelligence
3.1.1 Theories of human intelligence
3.1.2 The ‘Artificial’ Intelligence
3.1.3 Intelligence in computers
3.2 Intelligent Agents: Embedding Artificial Intelligence in e-businesses
3.2.1 Software Agents
3.2.2 The agents’ intelligence
3.2.3 A taxonomy for intelligent agents
3.2.4 Agent interactivity according to the Consumer Buyer Behaviour stages
3.2.5 Mediating agents in the electronic business scenarios
4 Technology and Business Application Analysis
4.1 Business Application Areas in Electronic Commerce
4.1.1 Individualization through Recommendation
4.1.2 Intelligent Partnering
4.1.3 Online Bargaining
4.1.4 Ontology-based product content management
4.1.5 Intelligent Customer Relationship Management
4.2 Current state of Intelligent Agent Technology
4.2.1 The technologies employed by Intelligent Agents
4.2.2 Agent communication and protocol standards
5 Assessing the commercial applicability of Intelligent Agents
5.1 Cost-Benefit-Analysis for Intelligent Agents
5.1.1 Cost analysis: A quantitative and qualitative approach
5.1.2 Benefit analysis: The Return on Intelligence
5.1.3 A discussion of social, ethical and legal issues and dilemmas
5.2 SWOT-Analysis for Intelligent Agents in electronic businesses
5.2.1 Strengths
5.2.2 Weaknesses
5.2.3 Opportunities
5.2.4 Threats
5.3 Real-world practices of Intelligent Agents: Expert interviews
6 Conclusion
6.1 Summary
6.2 Evaluation
6.3 Outlook
Objectives and Topics
This thesis examines the commercial viability of employing intelligent agents in electronic commerce. It evaluates whether these technologies effectively and efficiently address challenges such as information overload, market opacity, and the need for personalized customer experiences, assessing both the technical potential and the economic impact on businesses.
- The role of intelligent agents as mediators in electronic marketplaces.
- Methods for automating and facilitating core business processes like product search, negotiation, and relationship management.
- Technical approaches to agent intelligence, including reasoning, learning, and communication standards.
- An economic assessment of intelligent agents through cost-benefit and SWOT analyses in real-world contexts.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2.1 Software Agents
Software agents are a piece of software that acts autonomously on behalf of a principal (Caglayan & Harrison, 1998, p. 9). There is a broad range of definitions about what software agents are. Despite many controversies, there are some common agreed-upon opinions about the characteristics of agents (Clement & Runte, 1999, pp. 2-4; Franklin & Graesser, 1996, pp. 21-35; Caglayan & Harrison, 1998, p. 10; Papazoglou, 2001, pp. 72-73).
− Autonomy: Software agents must be autonomous, which means that they can perform their tasks without the intervention of the principal or other actors in the agent’s environment. Therefore software agents must be capable of providing their services to their principals without any explicit indications of the needed procedures given.
− Goal orientation: Software agents attempt to achieve their given or self-defined aims eagerly. They create own approaches to find solutions.
− Communication: Software agents require interfaces in order to be able to communicate. An input interface to the principal (either a human or another agent) is needed for receiving data, parameters and specifications about the task to be performed. An output interface is needed to transfer the results to the principal. A common communication protocol is for instance KQML (Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language, see 4.2.2).
− Learning aptitude: As described further down in section 3.2.2, the ability of software agents to learn comprises the ability to draw inferences (Bean & Segev, 1997, pp. 7-9). In section 3.1.2, there are two approaches (top-down and bottom-up) discussed that attempt to achieve learning capabilities in machines.
− Flexibility: The flexibility of software agents requires that their range of actions is not hard-coded and pre-programmed. Flexibility also includes the ability to react upon changes in the agent’s local environment.
− Pro-activeness: Software agents must be capable of initiatively initiating actions.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Outlines the shift in importance of artificial intelligence and defines the research scope regarding the commercial applicability of intelligent agents.
2 Intelligent Electronic Business: Analyzes the demand for intelligent technologies in electronic markets to overcome information overload and the changing roles of market intermediaries.
3 Artificial Intelligence in Electronic Commerce: Provides a foundation on AI theory and introduces intelligent agents as a mechanism for embedding these capabilities into business environments.
4 Technology and Business Application Analysis: Examines specific application areas like recommendation, partnering, and negotiation, alongside the underlying agent technologies.
5 Assessing the commercial applicability of Intelligent Agents: Performs a rigorous cost-benefit and SWOT analysis to determine the practical and economic value of agent integration.
6 Conclusion: Summarizes the findings and provides an outlook on the future development and market potential of agent-mediated electronic business.
Keywords
Artificial Intelligence, Intelligent Agents, Electronic Commerce, Information Brokerage, Cost-Benefit Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Multi-Agent Systems, E-Business, Customer Relationship Management, Automated Negotiation, Semantic Web, Software Agents, Business Process Automation, Market Transparency, Knowledge Management
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The work primarily explores the practical and commercial applicability of artificial intelligence, specifically focusing on software agents within electronic commerce environments.
What are the central thematic fields covered in this study?
The study spans AI theory, agent-based architectures, business application scenarios (such as personalization and bargaining), and economic evaluation techniques like cost-benefit and SWOT analyses.
What is the primary research question being addressed?
The thesis investigates whether artificial intelligence is reasonably and profitably applicable in Internet-related businesses, evaluated through the lenses of effectiveness and efficiency.
Which scientific methods are utilized for this analysis?
The author uses a literature-based theoretical analysis of AI concepts, combined with an assessment of business processes and empirical insights derived from expert interviews with developers in the field.
What topics are discussed in the main body of the work?
The main body evaluates how agents facilitate product brokering, vendor matching, and customer relationship management, while simultaneously analyzing the technological requirements and the challenges of deploying these systems in real-world business structures.
Which keywords characterize this publication?
Key terms include Artificial Intelligence, Intelligent Agents, E-commerce, SWOT Analysis, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Automated Negotiation, and Customer Relationship Management.
How do intelligent agents assist in the "Customer Buyer Behaviour" model?
Agents support various stages of the buying cycle, such as need identification, information search, merchant selection, and transaction negotiation, by automating routine tasks and providing expert-like guidance.
What role do the expert interviews play in this assessment?
The interviews provide real-world project experience from German industry leaders, helping to validate the theoretical findings and identify critical success factors and operational challenges in implementation.
- Citar trabajo
- Thomas Kramer (Autor), 2002, Assessment of the commercial applicability of artifical intelligence in electronic Businesses, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/185747
