Virtual Enterprise Network Research Articles

Virtual social enterprise: modeling sustainability of an enterprise by digital intervention

PurposeSocial enterprises (SEs) have emerged as a tool to sustainable development. SEs create a social value along with an economic value. However, the aspect of SEs still missing from literature is the process of virtualization. The purpose of this paper is to introduce international social entrepreneurship as an emerging form of social entrepreneurship that is using information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled innovation and networking with international partners as virtual enterprise network, to create social and economic values across the borders.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, qualitative research paradigm is adopted to study the internationalization of SEs. To identify the drivers of internationalization, in-depth literature review was conducted. Articles from six databases and Google Scholar were searched to propose a comprehensive model for internationalization of SEs.FindingsThere is limited academic work on the use and impact of digital intervention (ICTs) on SEs and, especially, on the virtualization of SEs as there is no paper explaining virtualization of SEs. This paper proposes a model for the internationalization of SEs, named virtual social enterprise.Research limitations/implicationsThe conceptual models and discussions on the virtualization of SEs are very limited in the extant literature. Very few articles could be found that studied the process of internationalization of SEs. Thus, the paper would have far-reaching implications for social enterprise theory and practice.Originality/valueThis is first study of its kind proposing a comprehensive theoretical model for internationalization of SEs. This model could be used by SEs for networking across international boundaries to control the flow of information and to market their products.

Virtual Enterprise Network based on IPSec VPN Solutions and Management

Informational society construction can’t be realized without research and investment projects in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). In the 21st century, all enterprises have a local area network, a virtual private network, an Intranet and Internet, servers and workstations for operations, administration and management working together for the same objective: profits. Internet Protocol Security is a framework of open standards for ensuring private communications over public networks. It has become the most common network layer security control, typically used to create a virtual private network. Network management represents the activities, methods, procedures, and tools (software and hardware) that pertain to the operation, administration, maintenance, and provisioning of networked systems. Therefore, this work analyses the network architecture for an enterprise (industrial holding) geographically dispersed. In addition, the paper presents a network management solution for a large enterprise us

Knowledge Base Development in Virtual Enterprise Network as Support for Workplace Risk Assessment

The article presents research results based on the concept of collaborative infrastructure (as the virtual enterprise network PREMINV e-platform from “Politehnica” University of Bucharest, Romania), in order to unify existing standards for supply chain management and to provide support in various decision making processes in manufacturing supply networks. The intent is to facilitate and enhance the required knowledge management processes linked with the business process management. The virtual enterprise network expects to reduce small and medium-sized enterprises involvement in networking efforts, enable better and faster decision processes and promote the development of the business services. In addition, the new product development paradigm requires software tools for risk estimation and assessment. For this purpose, the authors describe a knowledge bases method build and use for the professional risk assessment as part of risk management process. The risk level is established based on the probability and severity of its consequences.

The Virtual Cooperation Platform in Enterprise and Supplier Cooperation Models

Abstract This study examines the use of the virtual enterprise network supplier supply-chain model of business behavior in creating synergies of cooperation. To explore virtual network behavior, it evaluates 60 samples, taken from of a few supply chains, and 17 items meeting certain behavioral criteria. Such an analysis may help to reduce costs and processing time effectively, as well as promote effective communication. Furthermore, the study of behavior in this electronic setting is a reliable and useful assessment method.

A methodology for quantitative estimates for the work and disturbance transformation matrices

Modern design projects are typically undertaken concurrently in a virtual enterprise network of expert design and manufacture agents. The general need for agile response in turbulent environments is well documented and has been analysed at the manufacture phase. This paper proposes a framework to enable the simulation and analysis of an agile design methodology. This framework models the occurrence of an unexpected local event in a concurrent design project and how it propagates to the global project. The redistribution of the design work can be controlled within the virtual enterprise and the total redistribution impact can be measured. A four-level classification scheme for the severity of unexpected events is proposed. A trial design experiment is conducted, and a first-order quantitative analysis is performed based on Work Transformation Matrices (WTM) and a novel Disturbance Transformation Matrix (DTM). A design negotiation process based on the WTM/DTM is proposed.

Quality management framework for a virtual enterprise network: a multi‐agent approach

Globalization and the borderless marketplace have created an opportunity for companies to come together to work on projects that could otherwise not be completed through the efforts of one or two companies acting independently. The formation of virtual enterprise networks combines the advantages of the various core competencies of members of the network to deliver customer satisfaction. Virtual enterprise networks consist of several firms that can be geographically dispersed, and that might be technically disparate in terms of system platforms. Coordination among members of the network and the the transfer of quality products and services among members of the network are the key factors in achieving success. The proposed framework presented in this paper utilizes a multi‐agent model to monitor quality within a virtual enterprise network to ensure that the processes among members run smoothly and efficiently.

Virtual enterprise networks: the fifth element of corporate governance

Although still flying low under the popular business media's collective radar, virtual enterprise networks (or nets) do receive increased attention in the strategic management literature. A virtual enterprise network (VEN) is a system of autonomous firms that collaborate to achieve common business objectives. VENs give participants a competitive edge in markets demanding agility and rapid response. Seen as an emerging transactional exchange governance (TEG) form within transaction cost economics (TCE), VENs and the relations among firms that form them posit challenges for researchers and managers. VENs differ substantially from markets and hierarchies, and from recurrent and relational contracts, utterly changing what it means to be a firm in today's business. This essay explores alternative TEG forms, their characteristics and the criteria that bear on the choice of corporate governance: flexible specialization, market uncertainty, product (good or service) complexity, reliance on trust, risk, self-organization, shared knowledge, and socio-territorial cohesiveness. The essay offers propositions on the relations among economic criteria and the choice of transactional exchange governance forms by exploring the dynamics of a generic TEG structure. This is a system dynamics simulation model that partially offsets the shortcomings of transaction cost economics (TCE) and points to the potentially rich contribution of system dynamics to exploring VENs beyond the ideal-type TEG forms of markets and hierarchies that dominate the TCE literature.

Partner selection and information infrastructure of a virtual enterprise network

With the rapid development of transportation and Internet technology, more and more businesses are being organized as manufacturing networks of different units. Some of these units are wholly owned by the core company, others are outsourced to service providers. The formation of virtual enterprises is becoming a growing trend as companies concentrate on lean manufacturing, core competence and economic benefit. Study indicates that the administration and management of these networks, which involves a number of partner companies with dissimilar business natures and mostly geographically dispersed, is an important issue to be addressed. Owing to the diverse interests, competence and business culture of individual partner companies, the selection of manufacturing partners is a key success factor. In addition, the capability of the information flow infrastructure is another consideration since it affects the performance of the virtual network. This paper attempts to address both of these issues with the objective of showing how small firms can make use of the emerging technology. A case example is presented to illustrate the manufacture of electronic pagers via the virtual enterprise network.

Decision supporting functionality in a virtual enterprise network

Enterprises are now facing growing global competition and the continual success in the marketplace depends very much on how efficient and effective the companies are able to respond to customer demands. The Internet has provided a powerful tool to link up manufacturers, suppliers and consumers to facilitate the bi-directional interchange of useful information. The formation of virtual enterprise network is gathering momentum to meet this challenge. The idea of virtual enterprise network is meant to establish a dynamic organization by the synergetic combination of dissimilar companies with different core competencies, thereby forming a “best of everything” consortium to perform a given business project to achieve maximum degree of customer satisfaction. In this emerging business model of virtual enterprise network, the decision support functionality, which addresses the issues such as selection of business partners, coordination in the distribution of production processes and the prediction of production problems, is an important domain to be studied. This paper attempts to introduce a Neural On-Line Analytical Processing System (NOLAPS), which is able to contribute to the creation of decision support functionality in a virtual enterprise network. NOLAPS is equipped with two main technologies for achieving various objectives, including neural network for extrapolating probable outcomes based on available pattern of events and data mining for converting complex data into useful corporate information. A case example is also covered to validate the feasibility of the adoption of NOLAPS in real industrial situations.

Distributed Capacity Analysis for Proactive Planning in Semiconductor Virtual Enterprises

This paper describes the Capacity Analysis problem for proaetive Planning in Semiconductor Virtual Enterprises. A mathematical formulation is proposed that will enable world-wide capacitated loading of the Virtual Enterprise to be performed. The aim is to consider the overall manufacturing flow, the product structure for products, the current state, and concurrently all units in the Virtual Enterprise. The Capacity model that is proposed is detailed enough to sequence each workstation in a particular shopfloor or unit in the Virtual Enterprise network.