Towards using computational methods for real-time negotiations in electronic commerce

This paper attempts to construct a sound basis to support real-time negotiation decision-making by carefully applying concepts from the area of computational geometry, to meet the increasing decision requirements of electronic commerce. To achieve this, a method is discussed that models decision preferences and traces exact or close matches to these preferences in real-time, therefore allowing the decision maker to form a starting point of negotiations, while being realistic in individual expectations. The paper also discusses the implications and restrictions of such an approach and its future application in the deployment of decision support systems.