Global Virtual Enterprises Research Articles

Facilitating the Merger of Multinational Companies

This paper reports on case research investigating the challenges presented by a newly formed supply chain after a merger and acquisition (M&A) and the subsequent solution – the enactment of a global virtual enterprise (GVE). Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) is used as a lens to view and understand the transformational effects that occurred after the merger and the adoption of the GVE. A case study approach was adopted with empirical data collected from corporate web sites, direct participation in the project, and in-depth interviews with the two merged multinational supply networks set in Asia (the sub-ordinates are based in China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam) and North America (sites in Canada and the U.S.). The major problems encountered in the M&A process in the supply chain included incompatible product codes, redundant business processes, no unified ERP platforms, conflict of interests of supply chain entities, etc. The findings show the GVE approach improved the efficiency and effectiveness of this global acquisition through the re-alignment of organizational structures and personnel. Implications for practice and the further application of AST to the study of global supply chains and M&A are raised.

Building the enterprise of the future

PurposeThis paper sets out to describe the concept for the Enterprise of the Future, a project within the George Washington University Institute for Knowledge and Innovation. The purpose of the project is to lead the transformation to global virtual enterprise as the organization of choice for the twenty‐first century.Design/methodology/approachThis paper covers the challenges people are facing; how the enterprise of the future will address those challenges; what the enterprise of the future will look like; what research needs to be undertaken; and who will be leading the research. Concludes with a call for participation to anyone interested in transforming the very notion of what is called enterprise.FindingsThe goal is to create the capability for organizations to learn, innovate and transform at a pace equal to, or greater than, the speed of change in the marketplace. Meeting the competitive challenges which lie ahead requires major changes in the way people live, learn and work, both individually and organizationally. A significant amount of effort will be devoted to work processes, technology integration, and the knowledge workforce.Originality/valueContains useful information on the enterprise of the future.

Some thoughts on enterprise modelling

Enterprise management is highly value conscious, trying to determine and guide the activities of the company so as to be competitive (improve profits, reduce costs and time to market, etc.) and to build future capability to remain competitive. It is necessary to demonstrate why enterprise modelling is necessary to attain business objectives. We then discuss the role of interfaces in enterprise engineering and why enterprise modelling will play an even more significant role in the future enterprise. Finally, we discuss three research questions: model interoperability, the development of a reference model for global virtual enterprise, and plug-and-play, or 'component-based' enterprise engineering.

A Virtual Enterprise in Mexico: From Concepts to Practice

Latin American economy is growing fast and national enterprises are looking for new ways of improving their competitive position against international firms, specially small and medium enterprises. The concept of Virtual Enterprises can be a new way to do business and exploit business opportunities for these companies. In this report we will discuss the Framework for Virtual Enterprises developed in the Alfa Project called COSME-GVE (Global Virtual Enterprise) and a case of study based on experiences of a Mexican Company is also presented.

AI on the WWW supply and demand agents

Agent-based systems simplify user access to the many global virtual enterprises now arriving on the world Wide Web. After discussing the role supply and demand agents play in these developments, this article summarizes useful AI information resources they make available. >