[8] 2002 e-business-strategies-for-virtual-organizations

e-Business Strategies for Virtual Organizations
manage a value chain which transcends organizational boundaries,
geographical regions and time zones. Such firms deal in
products which lend themselves to a virtual market, namely
mass-customized goods and services produced and deliverable
anywhere, anytime and in any variety.
The concept of organizational virtuality is a characteristic of
the firm’s entire environment. It defines the perception of
globalness held by its stakeholders about the business scope
with respect to its presence, processes, products and relationships.
It is associated with features such as flexibility of
operations, responsiveness to market changes, agility in the
management of interfirm relations and other linkages within
industry. The exploitation of these features through the strategic
management of a global infrastructure platform can
enhance the perception of an extended scope of business even
though in reality the enterprise may be operating with a
limited physical scope. In other words, the firm may be able to
project itself and its products as being available at multiple
locations and in varied time zones. Venkatraman and Henderson
(1998) refer to the concept of managing a virtual enterprise
as virtual organizing and we here apply the term VSP to this
overall e-business strategy.
6.5 Choice of online business model
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An online business model is a generic organizational format
adapted to the electronic market environment and emphasizing
the use of Internet-based information infrastructure to do
business. While there exists a wide spectrum of online formats
for e-businesses (as described in Chapter 3) those relevant to
SMEs may be broadly categorized under three generic online
business models (Table 6.1).
Each category may have sub-classifications, which can only
represent generalized descriptions with significant overlap. For
example, portals and electronic malls may both be described as
virtual communities since both represent a collection of a wide
variety of services and service providers working as a community.
The unique feature of virtual communities is that they
provide a sense of a uniform marketspace to all players
including manufacturer, service providers, suppliers, and
customers.