An Ontology-Based Model for SME Network Contracts

Even if collaboration is considered an effective solution to improve business strategies, SMEs often lack common principles and common forms of contractual coordination. Several policies implemented by E.U. have addressed the setup of a comprehensive SME policy framework. However, European institutions seem to have focused more on organizational devices to conduct business activities rather than on contractual forms of coordination. In April 2009, Italy adopted a law in network contract to promote the development of interfirm cooperation strategies to foster enterprises’ innovation and growth. Even if this law represents a novelty in Europe and may offer new challenges and hints, it still presents some lacks in its formulation. The current research aims at presenting the Italian law for network contract, by highlighting both its potentialities and its defects. A formal model to support the design of a SME network was proposed, by providing both an ontology-based model to help the definition of the contract in a structured way, and a basic workflow to identify the important phases of the network design, i.e., the feasibility study and the negotiation. In this way, the network rules and criteria for controlling the network members’ contributions are defined. Mathematical tools derived from performance optimization were exploited

Understanding and managing shared projects in SMEs networks

6th Working Conference on Virtual Enterprises, Valencia, SPAIN, SEP 26-28, 2005International audienceThis research work presents a management framework applied to a network of SMEs which organizes its production like a shared project. Starting from a set of network definitions and considering the collective nature of their activities and the concentration on the own core competences, the study tries to specify what is expected from the management. Then, it proposes a framework to plan and manage the collaborative work using concepts coming from project and risk management theories and practices based on the results of an empirical study in a twelve SMEs network from the aeronautical sector located in Toulouse, France. A specific typology of risks that affect the operation of networks is proposed. Additionally, work planning recommendations are presented