A fuzzy approach to value-based service contract selection

Service contract matchmaking tools support customers in accurate service selection. Basically, these tools rank services according to the degree of match between explicit customer preferences and contractual terms offered by service providers. However, the usage of such tools assumes that a customer is aware of the contractual terms and that he/she is able to specify preferences on them. Actually, customers often specify preferences only on a limited set of well-known terms. This paper describes an approach to service contract selection that adopts the value in use concept to quantify the trade-off between benefits and sacrifices related to contractual terms on which the customer has omitted to specify preferences. Fuzzy logic is used to evaluate benefits and sacrifices, and the relevance that customers attribute to specific contractual terms is considered to quantify the value in use. Experimental activities in the car insurance domain demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the approach.