1. A computer-implemented method for aggregating state information associated with a composite business object, the composite business object representing at least one collaboration between a plurality of business entities, the method comprising: retrieving the state information for the composite business object from a computer-readable medium; and determining a state for the composite business object based on an assigned priority level for a state in a hierarchy of states associated with the composite business object, each state in the hierarchy of states having a corresponding assigned priority level.