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

Figure 9.2
Outsourcing, partnering and the virtual organization
Cells 1, 2, 4, 5 indicate a need either to acquire the capability or
to partner with an organization that has the capability. Partnering
implies investing in the collaborating organization and
positioning one’s company to acquire more ownership if the
particular activity emerges over time as more key or central to
the competitive positioning of the company. As one moves to the
lower levels of cells 4 and 5, and the activity is seemingly less
critical to competitiveness, a collaborative positioning of pooling
knowledge and sharing risk with less of an emphasis on
ownership possibilities is recommended.
Cells 3 and 6 indicate activities which are critical to competitiveness
or are emerging towards such status. They are also
activities in which the organization has a strong internal
capability. These activities should be being performed in-house
under tight control. Where the activity is just emerging towards
being important to competitiveness, and there is uncertainty
about its future criticality, as in the lower part of cell 6, a suitable
position might be to collaborate to share risk, thus economizing
on resources expended in carrying out the activity, but remaining
positioned to take the activity in-house if necessary.
Cells 7, 8, 10, 11 indicate both the weak or moderate internal
capability in the activities, together with a low potential for
yielding a competitive advantage. These characteristics of the
activities indicate suitability for outsourcing to suitable external
providers. As one moves towards the upper right of this set of
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