An I-Based Taxonomy of Virtual Organisations and the Implications for Effective Management

This paper expands on the taxonomy of virtual organisation (VO) structures based on the cross-boundary information flow requirements of member organisations within the VO. Each structure is described, with the essential implications for effective management. That is, what particular features of the VO must management take account of if that VO structure is to be implemented. Management implications to be considered are: Existence of a core organisation, Member organisation replaceability, Planning, Customer contact, Information flows, Suitability of management for each member organisation. The structures are further explained by use of two extended examples. Three information flows are used to define the taxonomy: Plan-ning, Operational and Coordination information. The structures of the i-based VO taxonomy are: Virtual face, Star alliance, Market alliance, Co-alliance, Value alliance, Parallel alliance.