On Formalizing Opportunism Based on Situation Calculus

Abstract

Abstract. In social interactions, it is common for one party to possess more or better knowledge about a specific transaction than others. In this situation, parties who are more knowledgeable might perform opportunistic behavior to others, which is against others' interest thus leading to relationship deterioration. In this study, we propose formal models of opportunism, which consist of the properties knowledge asymmetry, value opposition and intention, based on situation calculus in different context settings. We illustrate our formalization through a simple example. Further study on its emergence and constraint mechanism can be carried out based on the formal models.