A Proposal of Middle-Agent Based Framework for Innovating a Business Model

In this paper, with a middle-agent based framework, we can expect to figure out a business model that is focused on distributors for win-win cooperation and collaboration by revealing the effect, the influence, and the requirement for consensus in cooperation and collaboration. Cooperation and collaboration help companies collect such resources as technologies, knowledge, information, and funds as well as creating new businesses and developing new products. Distributors can create good cooperation and collaboration by mediating between manufacturing and user companies. We give an example of the collaborative development of new products where a distributor mediated between maker and user companies. Application Specific Standard Product (ASSP), which is an LSI for specific applications, is attracting attention. To develop an ASSP, both semiconductor and user companies must agree on the functions that the ASSP has and how many ASSPs must be considered without disclosing secret information. In this paper, We modeled distributors in a collaborative development and implemented a tool for an agent-based simulation, in which we imagined a market where a product is developed, sold, and bought. We investigated the role of middle agents, distributors and how they affect the market. In addition, we proposed a framework for examining a new business model.