Value activity monitoring

Current value modeling ontologies are grounded on the economic premise that profit sharing is a critical condition to be assessed during the configuration of a value constellation. Such a condition ought to be reinforced through a monitoring mechanism design, since a value model expresses only promises (but not assurances) of value creation. Hence there is a need to extend current value modeling ontologies with a monitoring ontology. This ontology will enable business practitioners to design value models that are enriched with internal monitoring organization. It will also allow these stakeholders to develop a library of monitoring value models, which could be explored to discover and select the most cost-efficient monitoring policies according to their needs. Aligned with this vision, the main contribution of this work is the so-called Value Monitoring Ontology (VMO), which formalizes a Service monitoring logic for value constellations. The logic combines fundamental principles of Agency Theory, Language Action Perspective (LAP) and Service-Dominant Logic. The ultimate modeling rationale behind VMO is to leverage Service monitoring as a question of Business Strategy, through the injection of a Service monitoring logic in value models, as part of the initial configuration of value constellations. The applicability of VMO is demonstrated here through real-world business cases in Customs Control, Intellectual Property Rights in the Digital Music Industry, and Renewable Energy. The feasibility analysis reported in this document supports the claim that VMO is a valid ontological proposition, which is addressed especially to research communities in Business Service Design, Service-Oriented Computing, Value Modeling and Ontology Engineering.