Shared Ledger Trust Score for Commerce Negotiation
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Solution Overview
Problem
As the number of entities involved in online commerce negotiations increases, it becomes difficult to ascertain when entities are acting honestly or bluffing, leading to suboptimal deals and trust issues in mediated negotiation systems.
Innovation Solution
A shared ledger, such as a blockchain, is used to store information on negotiation actions, allowing for the calculation of trustworthiness scores based on criteria like fulfillment of promises and acceptance of offers, which are then provided to other entities to inform their negotiation strategies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the number of entities in online commerce negotiations increases, then the system capacity and transaction volume improve, but the difficulty of ascertaining honest behavior and trust verification worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mediator system that acts as an intermediary between negotiating entities. This mediator maintains a shared ledger recording negotiation actions and calculates trustworthiness scores, providing a neutral third-party mechanism for trust verification that scales with the number of entities without requiring direct verification between each pair of entities
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where trustworthiness scores are calculated based on recorded negotiation actions and fed back to entities. This feedback loop allows entities to adjust their behavior based on their trustworthiness history, creating a self-regulating system that maintains reliability as the network grows
2Ease of operation
If entities are allowed to negotiate freely without trust verification, then the ease of operation and negotiation speed improve, but the occurrence of bluffing and suboptimal deals increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by calculating and making available trustworthiness scores before negotiations occur. Entities can review these scores in advance to assess potential negotiation partners, allowing them to make informed decisions about whether to engage in negotiations without requiring real-time verification during the negotiation process
Solution Approach 2:
The shared ledger provides all entities with equal access to the same trustworthiness information, creating an equipotential information environment. This eliminates information asymmetry where one party might have an advantage in detecting bluffing, ensuring that all entities operate from the same information baseline
3Reliability
If a shared ledger is implemented to record all negotiation actions, then the transparency and trust establishment improve, but the device complexity and data storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shared ledger serves multiple functions simultaneously: it records negotiation actions, calculates trustworthiness scores, provides verification mechanisms, and enables informed decision-making. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate systems for each function, thereby limiting the increase in overall system complexity despite the added transparency capabilities
4Measurement precision
If trustworthiness scores are calculated and provided to entities, then the quality of decision-making improves, but the loss of time for score calculation and information processing increases
Solution Approach 1:
Trustworthiness scores are calculated and made available before negotiations begin, allowing entities to incorporate this information into their negotiation strategies without time pressure. The preliminary availability of scores eliminates the need for time-consuming calculations during active negotiations
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments for establishing trust in commerce negotiations are provided. Information associated with negotiation actions of each of a plurality of entities is stored in a shared ledger. A trustworthiness score is calculated for at least one of the plurality of entities based on the information associated with the negotiation actions of the at least one of the plurality of entities. The calculated trustworthiness score is provided to at least one other of the plurality of entities.