A multi-attribute auction is a type of
auction
An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition e ...
in which the bids have multiple parts. Multi-attribute auctions allow agents to sell and purchase goods and services, taking into account more attributes than just price (e.g. service time, tolerances, qualities, etc.).
History
The earliest research paper about a multi-attribute auction appeared in a 1994 discussion on construction contracts. In 1997, they were discussed in the context of long-term electricity contracts.
Attributes
The structural elements of a bid are called designated ''attributes''. Attributes may be verifiable, unverifiable, or auctioneer-provided. If bids include a single quality, such as price, the auction is referred to as a ''single-attribute auction''. Generally, bids are prices in
English auctions
An English auction is an open-outcry ascending dynamic auction. It proceeds as follows.
* The auctioneer opens the auction by announcing a suggested opening bid, a starting price or reserve for the item on sale.
* Then the auctioneer accepts incr ...
, and confirmations in
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
and
Japanese auction
A Japanese auction (also called ascending clock auction) is a dynamic auction format. It proceeds in the following way.
* An initial price is displayed. This is usually a low price - it may be either 0 or the seller's reserve price.
* All buyers t ...
s. In
Brazilian auction
A Brazilian auction is a certain set of rules for a reverse auction. The buyer communicates the price she or he is willing to pay for the whole lot in advance. Then, the sellers bid on how many identical units they are willing to provide at that p ...
s, they refer to the numbers of units being traded.
A scoring, or
utility
As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosophe ...
function, is essential for multi-attribute auctions, as it calculates a single number from multiple attributes, making bids that vary in multiple ways comparable.
This scoring function is announced by the auctioneer to the bidders before the start of the auction.
See also
*
Multi-attribute global inference of quality
Multi-attribute global inference of quality (MAGIQ) is a multi-criteria decision analysis technique. MAGIQ is based on a hierarchical decomposition of comparison attributes and rating assignment using rank order centroids.
Description
The MAGIQ ...
*
Multi-attribute utility In decision theory, a multi-attribute utility function is used to represent the preferences of an agent over bundles of goods either under conditions of certainty about the results of any potential choice, or under conditions of uncertainty.
Preli ...
References
{{Reflist
Types of auction