Virtual machines within a network computing environment negotiate among themselves with regard to the sharing of resources via respective resource managers. The resource agent monitors resource allocation patterns of its virtual machine and responsively updates usage data in a resource availability map and compares the updated usage data to a minimum operational requirements threshold and a surplus amount threshold. If the updated usage fails to meet the minimum operational requirements threshold, the resource agent determines a needed shortfall amount of resources, searches the resource availability map for offers of the shortfall from resource agents, and sends out a request to a resource agent offering the shortfall amount. If the updated usage data meets the minimum operational requirements threshold, the resource agent determines a surplus amount of a resource that exceeds the surplus amount threshold and creates and broadcasts an offer of the surplus amount to the other resource agents.