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

e-Business Strategies for Virtual Organizations
involving innovative online marketing and distribution of its
products. DeBLOCKKA will also seek new partners with whom
it can widen its product mix and increase its market share in the
region. While planning to remain a small company, strategic
partnering with other businesses founded on the use of
networked information infrastructure should enable it to build
up its effective resource base and also expand its access to
market opportunities around the world. Part of the subsequent
developments in infrastructure will be to provide varied access
levels for the stakeholder community to its online databases and
resources in support of collaborative work with its strategic
partners.
The training portfolio is especially targeted as a cash cow for the
company in the next five years. The company has decided to
develop an international training package on technology management
for national clients in the developing economies. In the
longer term, the company hopes to lay the foundation for
industrial design and intellectual property consulting services in
the developing countries.
Questions for case analysis and discussion
140
(In providing answers to the following questions, your ability to
locate discussions within contemporary literature on the subject
will be a plus.)
Strategic management issues
Deciding on global orientation raises a number of strategic
issues for the company. The following questions are intended to
stimulate discussions on infrastructure management strategies
in DeBLOCKKA.
A. General
1 List some of these issues especially focusing on their relevance
to the relative size of the company and how it will manage
access to resources, clients and technological facilities?
2 How would you expect the company’s high virtual profile in
relation to the small physical presence (i.e. a single business
office in Durban) to affect the credibility of the company in the
eyes of some its clientele, especially in international projects
involving national governments? What would you suggest as
possible solutions (either technical or other) to this problem?