An empirical study of interest-based negotiation

Abstract

While argumentation-based negotiation has been accepted as a promising alternative to game-theoretic or heuristic based negotiation, no evidence has been provided to confirm this theoretical advantage. We propose a model of bilateral negotiation extending a simple monotonic concession protocol by allowing the agents to exchange information about their underlying interests and possible alternatives to achieve them during the negotiation. We present an empirical study that demonstrates (through simulation) the advantages of this interest-based negotiation approach over the more classic monotonic concession approach to negotiation. Copyright 2007 ACM.