Models, Methodologies, and Tools Supporting Establishment and Management of Second-Generation VBEs

Both research and practice have shown that preexistence of long-term associations/clusters of active and competitive organizations, the so-called virtual organizations breeding environments (VBEs), can greatly enhance dynamic creation of virtual organizations (VOs). During the past decade, a number of VBEs are formed worldwide, mostly among organizations located in a common region that, in principle, have common business culture and other similarities, and primarily focus on static lines of activities. The second-generation VBEs addressed in this paper; however, aim to focus on associations/clusters that are not bound to geographical regions or static lines of activities, and wish to act as well recognized and competitive entities in the society/market, facilitating time/cost effective and fluid configuration, and establishment of dynamic VOs. The proposed VBEs apply supporting information and communication technology infrastructures, tools, and services that provide common grounds for the interaction and cooperation among their member organizations. Furthermore, these multiregional VBEs assist with the needed evolution of VOs, introducing new approaches and mechanisms to build trust, define the needed collaboration business culture, and establish the common value systems and working/sharing principles among their independent organizations, among others. The paper introduces a number of models, methodologies, and tools that are designed and developed supporting both the management as well as successful operation of the second-generation VBEs.