Abstract
Virtual organization (VO) has been defined in various ways. Some authors define it as a particular organizational design (a compound of structure, culture, politics, and strategy) that is created from different organizations for more or less temporary purposes in order to accomplish a certain objective (e.g., Byrne, 1993; Davidow & Malone, 1992; Travica, 1997). Others posit that the virtual organization is rather a capability of joining core competencies, outsourcing, or of meeting production requirements by using alternative satisfiers (Kraut et al., 1998; Moshowitz, 1994; Venkatraman & Henderson, 1998). This article bridges the design and capability perspectives, and proposes the ICAAAC model of VO that can be used for studying and managing VOs. Amazon.com, the Web-based bookstore, is used for illustrating applicability of the model. The ICAAAC model draws on a voluminous literature of VO, and its dimensions (with the exception of interoperability) are inspired by characteristics of VO described in the most remarkable pieces of the literature. Due to the space limitations, only a small sample of this literature can be cited. The ICAAAC model of VO is depicted in Figure 1, and the discussion on its dimensions follows.
Recommended Citation
Travica, Bob, "ICAAAC Model of Virtual Organization" (1999). AMCIS 1999 Proceedings. 8.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis1999/8