Virtual Organizations as Normative Multiagent Systems

In this paper we propose a conceptual model of virtual organizations as normative multiagent systems. The dynamic aspects of virtual organizations are modeled using aspects of speech act theory and Searle´s theory of the construction of social reality. We illustrate the use of our model by discussing an example of distributed access control policies. We show how the model captures the distinction between local and global authorities, and between local and global norm enforcement policies.