On management of 2nd generation Virtual Organizations Breeding Environments

Nowadays, in a wide variety of sectors from production-based to service-oriented, temporary collaboration among organizations in the so-called Virtual Organizations (VOs), is the trend adopted by most, and in particular by small and medium enterprises. Pre-existence of long-term associations/clusters of active and competitive organizations, the so-called Virtual Organizations Breeding Environments (VBEs), is shown to greatly enhance dynamic creation of VOs. A number of VBEs have been formed world-wide during the last decade, mostly among organizations located in a common region, with common business culture, and primarily focus on specific lines of activities. This paper however addresses the 2nd generation VBEs that are not bound to geographical regions or specific activities. These VBEs shall play an active role in the society/market as competitive entities, and need to effectively support agile configuration and establishment of dynamic VOs. Furthermore, the 2nd generation VBEs require enabling ICT infrastructure and tools, to facilitate their daily management activities as well as supporting the collaboration among their member organizations. The paper introduces a number of models, methodologies and tools designed and developed to support 2nd generation VBEs.