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

Developing knowledge-based strategies for a virtual organization
� Trust people to think and act strategically; by informing of
them of long-term goals and encouraging input, you
involve them in the search for success.
� Build up the identified core competencies and avoid rigid
thinking about them that prevents adding to or altering
your perception of these.
� Leverage value through strategic alliances and economic
webs – see the success of others as something to be helpful
to your business and do not strive against the entire world.
2 Customer value – match what you can deliver to the groups of
customers who want your products or value:
� Think like your customers and question whether you are
working for joint benefit, or yours alone.
� Choose the right value proposition and build the right
operating mode (difficult!).
� Evolve the model continually – do not be afraid to
improve on successful models or test the market for
changes in direction. Many failures have emerged from
concentrating on satisfying a defined need and not seeing
where new needs were arising.
3 Knowledge management – leverage knowledge for competitive
advantage:
� Learn how to define and acquire knowledge.
� Know who the knowledge workers are: encourage and
keep them.
� Learn how to learn – an informed staff can contribute
more.
4 Business organization – organize around networks and processes:
� Move from hierarchies to networks that aim to get the job
done for the customer, not the internal boss.
� Emphasize processes and teams because these work
better.
� Recognize the organization as a social structure.
5 Market focus – find and keep strategic, profitable, and loyal
customers:
� Build the value of customer capital.
� Find out which customers are worthwhile.
� Acquire and keep the right customers; it costs less to fill
repeat orders than to find new customers or take them
away from a competitor.
6 Management accounting – manage the business, not the
numbers:
� Know how to analyse product and service profitability.
� Use accounting to help improve processes.
� Move towards more relevant accounting systems.
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