A study on the virtual enterprise for consolidating firms' competitiveness

Abstract

In the past decade, the change in the global economy has significantly re-defined the way business has been conducted. The core activity of manufacturing is no longer confined to making things but lies in the systematic processing of knowledge to create value for customers. Business services that capitalize on Internet and information technologies are expanding fast. In fact, the availability of digital tools and equipment in the marketplace provides a major opportunity for enterprises to build stronger relationships with customers and partners, which is regarded as the key to building a successful business. In this background, virtual enterprise as new business model is taking up momentum to explore the new opportunity in the business world. This paper selects some issues such as selection of business partners, coordination in the distribution of production process and the prediction / detection of production partnership, and suggests solutions of issues as the checklist and manual of virtual enterprise formation. The below is summary of research contents. First, the needs of relationships among firms are already explained in introduction. According to this explaining, paper would like to see the effects that are caused in shaping network structure. Before the concept using in this paper is decided, so many virtual enterprise``s concepts that are defined by experts are summarized. And then this paper defines the clear definition of virtual enterprise. Second, this paper suggests the checklist of forming virtual enterprise through studying on virtual enterprise case studies and surveying literatures. The purpose of checklist is supporting for entrepreneurs who want to make virtual enterprise. The checklist is divided by three parts; pre-virtual enterprise, post virtual enterprise, and feedback. Before forming virtual enterprise is called pre VE, and after forming VE is called post-VE. Third, the types of firm``s relationship act as critical variable i...