Modes of participation [Impact of ICTs on the importance of membership and participation]

The on-going paradigm shift in value creation (individualized production, co-creation experience, production networks etc.), initiated by new technologies: information and communication technologies (ICTs) as well as manufacturing technologies, results in new business models and, thus, changed organizational structures in economics. Furthermore, organizations in other societal subsystems are changing, e.g. political organizations. Against this background some analytical criteria of organizations, which were relevant regarding traditional organizations, have to be re-rated. An example is the criterion `membership', which was a key characteristic of organizations for a long time, whereas it actually becomes less important as many organizations open their boundaries to integrate stakeholders, which have been former parts of the environment. Derived from organizational theory the constructs membership and participation will be reflected and discussed with regard to the on-going paradigm shift based on ICTs.