Intelligent decision-making model based on minority game for resource allocation in cloud manufacturing

Abstract Purpose This paper proposes a model based on minority game (MG) theory to support the decision-making regarding the efficient allocation and exploitation of resources/services among the partners of a cloud manufacturing (CMfg) system. CMfg system is a new manufacturing paradigm to share manufacturing capabilities and resources on a cloud platform. The use of a decision model to organize and manage the resources and services provided by the autonomous participants of a CMfg has crucial relevance for the system's effectiveness and efficiency. Design/methodology/approach This research proposes a noncooperation model based on MG theory. The MG is designed to make decisions on the use of resources/services among the partners of CMfg with private information. A simulation environment was developed to test the efficiency of the proposed decision model. Moreover, an ideal decision model with complete information among the partners was used as a benchmark model. Findings The simulation results show how the application of the proposed MG model outperforms the MG model usually proposed in the literature. In particular, the proposed decision model based on private information has an efficiency closer to the ideal model with complete information among the partners of a CMfg. Originality/value This paper advances knowledge about the application of MG in the field of CMfg system. The proposed decision-making model based on MG is a promising approach to help enterprises, and especially small and medium enterprises, to participate in CMfg initiatives and to develop their business.