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

Characteristics of the virtual organization
virtual organization members, and an acceptance and understanding
that risk is to be shared amongst those standing to
benefit.
Some caution needs to be exercised at this point, for the virtual
organization and virtual organizing should not be presented as
the way of the future, almost akin to a business imperative for
the successful enterprise in this internetworked era. Many of the
characteristics, strategies and claims for the virtual organization
are conceptually appealing. Yet there seems to be a range of
challenges for managers to nurture a successful business within
the conceptual framework of virtual organizing, and we shall
return to this issue in Chapter 11 below. It would seem, prima
facie, that many of the strengths and powerful characteristics of
the virtual organization also tend to render it vulnerable, and
hence can be a source of weakness. Table 2.2 displays some of
these tensions that would support this thinking.
The type of innovation involved and the associated information
flows and knowledge management strategies can also enhance
or moderate the likely success of the virtual organization.
Autonomous innovations (basically stand-alone, independent of
Table 2.2 Inherent tensions in behaviours of the virtual organization
Strengths How strengths become weaknesses
Opportunistic,
entrepreneurial, risk
taking
Mutual trust, shared
risk, opportunistic
Personal incentives and rewards for
risk taking increase, leading to
self-interest in behaviours, etc., making
coordination and cooperation amongst
parties more difficult.
When conflicts or misunderstandings
do arise, or unforeseen opportunities
work to favour some of the parties
more than others, there exist few
established procedures for negotiation
and conflict resolution.
Opportunistic The spirit that drives parties to
collaborate may also cause virtual
organizations to fragment if one or
more of the parties deliberately act to
exploit more benefits for themselves
than for the other parties.
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