ICT-supported interorganisational business networks and knowledge management and network building for the support of regional development
PD Dr. Dieter Rehfeld/Dr. Ileana Hamburg, IAT, Research Center NRW, Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Tel. +49 209 1707 0
Marian Krsko, SYNERGY-VCG, Bratislava, Slovakia, Tel. +04212 4364 1252
Abstract
Interorganisational business networks are a relatively new paradigm and their success could be linked to the dynamics of technological and organisational innovation. Internet and other communication technologies (ICT) support "virtual co-operation" e.g. based on the electronic super-highway, partners can combine resources from anywhere in the world to compete in markets anywhere and to response rapidly to opportunity in business.
Business networks would have only moral authority, as opposed to any kind of regulatory authority, over representatives of the business and civil society sectors. So they need to get power through exposure, disclosure and reputational effect in bringing innovation in business.
These new forms of business co-operation and interorganisational collaboration have also brought about a need to address and define the legal issues that arise when conducting electronic business across legislative borders. It is important that businesses are aware of the varying legal requirements when operating across political borders; as a failure to comply could result in illegal transactions. The knowledge of these variances and requirements will provide businesses with a safeguard that allows legitimate and legal trading activity.
The problems which will be discussed in this presentation are the following:
- different forms of organisational networks, particularly clusters,
- social base of such regional networks in a global world,
- in which way regional co-operation and global interorganisational business networks are linked best?
- what is the future of regional networks when standards become more and more dominant?
- organisational and business attributes of ICT supported organisational networks,
- virtual networks and their impact on regional development, to avoid lock-in-effects and to end in path-dependency,
- factors of success for ICT supported organisational networks like collaboration and the building of virtual communities,
- the development of virtual, knowledge-based forums (VKBF) as hybrid social-technical interactive spaces for improving communication and co-operation in such networks,
- types of VKBF, their use for analysing innovation processes retrospectively, technological preconditions for them.
Two examples of regional and European ICT supported interorganisational business networks will be presented: the Gate2Growth Initiative and the European Virtual Business Network EVIBINET with the IAT as co-operation partner.