Topic
Virtual organization
About: Virtual organization is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1514 publications have been published within this topic receiving 24555 citations.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, Quinn outlines an integrated knowledge and outsourcing strategy that can mitigate the risks and concerns associated with outsourcing, focusing on two to four cross-functional, intellectually based service activities or knowledge and skill sets.
Abstract: Today's knowledge- and service-based economy offers companies a chance to increase profits through strategic outsourcing of intellectually based systems. As companies disaggregate intellectual activities internally and outsource more externally, they approach true virtual organization with knowledge centers interacting largely through mutual interest and electronic ? rather than authority ? systems. In this article, Quinn outlines an integrated knowledge and outsourcing strategy that can mitigate the risks and concerns associated with outsourcing.
Companies with successful knowledge strategies follow these well-accepted principles:
They concentrate on developing "best in world" capabilities that customers genuinely care about. An effective core competency strategy focuses on two to four cross-functional, intellectually based service activities or knowledge and skill sets that the company can build and maintain at best-in-world levels to provide a flexible platform for future innovations (at least one directly connected to understanding the customer). Such core competencies become "strategic blocks" that prevent a firm's suppliers from directly attacking its markets and increase the firm's bargaining power and security.
They leverage the capabilities and investments of others by exploiting three areas of intellectual outsourcing: (1) traditional service or functional activities performed in-house (e.g., accounting, IT, or employee benefits); (2) complementary, integrative, or duplicative activities scattered throughout the company; and (3) disciplines, subsystems, or systems in which outsiders have greater expertise or capabilities for innovation.
They innovate constantly. Links to outside knowledge sources that are able to assemble diverse expertise greatly affect the timing and amplitude of innovations. Sophisticated outsourcing supported by new electronic communications, modeling, and monitoring techniques enables companies to reduce innovation cycle times and costs by 60 percent to 90 percent and decrease investments and risks by equal amounts.
They eliminate inflexibilities, such as fixed overhead, bureaucracy, and physical plant, by tapping the resources of the downstream customer chain and the upstream technology and supply chain.
How can a company best manage risks and develop the full potential of intellectual outsourcing? Successful outsourcers carefully develop and implement certain crucial management controls that Quinn describes. Outsourcing also must become a top management issue because lower- to intermediate-level managers tend to be actively hostile to outsourcing ? fearing loss of jobs, prestige, or power.
1,038 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the main characteristics of a "discipline" are analyzed in the context of collaborative networks, showing that the pre-conditions necessary for building this new discipline are available.
Abstract: Collaborative networks manifest in a large variety of forms, including virtual organizations, virtual enterprises, dynamic supply chains, professional virtual communities, collaborative virtual laboratories, etc. A large body of empiric knowledge related to collaborative networks is already available, but there is an urgent need to consolidate this knowledge and build the foundations for a more sustainable development of this area. The establishment of a scientific discipline for collaborative networks is a strong instrument in achieving this purpose. In this article the main characteristics of a “discipline” are analyzed in the context of collaborative networks, showing that the pre-conditions necessary for building this new discipline are available.
740 citations
1 Sep 1999
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that a company that invests in as little as possible will be more responsive to a changing market-place and more likely to attain global competitive advantage.
Abstract: Champions of virtual corporations are urging managers to subcontract anything and everything All over the world, companies are jumping on the bandwagon, decentralizing, downsizing, and forging alliances to pursue innovation Why is the idea of the virtual organization so tantalizing? Because we have come to believe that bureaucracy is bad and flexibility is good And so it follows that a company that invests in as little as possible will be more responsive to a changing market-place and more likely to attain global competitive advantage
649 citations
TL;DR: It is indicated that the fit between structure and task routineness affects the perception of performance, but may not affect the actual performance of the organization, and existing theories can be expanded to study the structure and perceived performance of virtual organizations.
Abstract: Virtual organizations that use e-mail to communicate and coordinate their work toward a common goal are becoming ubiquitous. However, little is known about how these organizations work. Much prior research suggests that virtual organizations, for the most part because they use information technology to communicate, will be decentralized and nonhierarchical. This paper examines the behavior of one such organization. The analysis is based on a case study of the communication structure and content of communications among members of a virtual organization during a four-month period. We empirically measure the structure of a virtual organization and find evidence of hierarchy. The findings imply that the communication structure of a virtual organization may exhibit different properties on different dimensions of structure. We also examine the relationship among task routineness, organizational structure, and performance. Results indicate that the fit between structure and task routineness affects the perception of performance, but may not affect the actual performance of the organization. Thus, this virtual organization is similar to traditional organizations in some ways and dissimilar in other ways. It was similar to traditional organizations in so far as task-structure fit predicted perceived performance. However, it was dissimilar to traditional organizations in so far as fit did not predict objective performance. To the extent that the virtual organizations may be similar to traditional organizations, existing theories can be expanded to study the structure and perceived performance of virtual organizations. New theories may need to be developed to explain objective performance in virtual organizations.
559 citations
TL;DR: An analysis of 172 members of 44 virtual communities found that the sense of virtual community is affected by the enthusiasm of the community's leaders, off-line activities available to members, and enjoyability.
Abstract: The sense of virtual community is a principal construct in virtual community research. Therefore understanding it in depth is important for studies of communities-of-practice, virtual collaboration, virtual organization, and other critical organizational and information systems issues. This article conceptualizes and operationalizes the sense of virtual community, and validates several of its antecedents. An analysis of 172 members of 44 virtual communities found that the sense of virtual community is affected by the enthusiasm of the community's leaders, off-line activities available to members, and enjoyability. These characteristics had a stronger impact for members of virtual communities that originated on-line than for those in communities that originated off-line. The implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.
535 citations
Related Topics (5)
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2024 | 3 |
| 2023 | 9 |
| 2022 | 13 |
| 2021 | 9 |
| 2020 | 8 |