Flexible deadlines for directed obligations in agent-based business contracts

In B2B contract enactment, cooperation should be taken into account when modeling contractual commitments through obligations. We advocate a directed deadline obligation approach, taking inspiration on international legislation over trade procedures. Our proposal is based on authorizations granted in specific states of an obligation lifecycle model. Flexible deadlines provide an additional level of cooperation between contractual agents. Moreover, agents increase their decision-making options concerning obligations.