Fig. 2

The generalized expected value function of buyers. The expected value function \(\mathcal {V}_{i}\) of a buyer agent with regards to the reliability γ_i of an SLA. At full reliability (γ_i=1) the expected value of the SLA by the buyer agent is equal to v_i which is determined by the private value α_i and the demand d_i. The value of β_i distinguishes different attitudes of buyer i towards the reliability γ_i. The values used for the illustration are β_i={−2.5,0,2.5}