As a new scientific discipline, research on different aspects of CNs is gaining momentum. As a result of many research projects and pilot applications, a large number of new challenges are identified everyday, in need of innovative solutions, which require holistic, multi-disciplinary approaches.

This book contains a number of selected articles from PRO-VE 2007, the eighth Working Conference on Virtual Enterprises held in Guimarães, Portugal, which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and the Society of Collaborative Networks (SOCOLNET). PRO-VE is well known as the most focused scientific and technical conference on Collaborative Networks, offering a major opportunity for the presentation and discussion of the latest research developments and industrial practice case studies. In line with the vision of IFIP and SOCOLNET societies, the PRO-VE Conference offers a forum for collaboration and knowledge exchange among experts from different regions of the world. With the steady growth of the PRO-VE community, this platform has offered a base for consolidation of the foundation of Collaborative Networks.

The articles included in this book represent a comprehensive overview of recent advances in various domains and lines of research and development on collaborative networks. There is a special emphasis on the CN topics related to trust aspects, performance and valuesystems, VO breeding environments, VO creation, e-contracting, collaborative architectures and frameworks, professional virtual communities, interoperability issues, business benefits, and case studies and applications in industry and services.

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