Virtualness:a new organisational dimension

In current literature a new organisational form is presented, the virtual organisation (VO). ms organisational form is a co-operation between a number of companies who combine their strengths to develop a new service or product. The current VO literature is ambiguous about the definition and characteristics of VOs. Furthermore, few empirical studies have been performed about the organisational structure, the internal communication and the consequences of virtual settings to knowledge and learning. In the literature it is assumed that knowledge is developed and transferred between the involved parties. However, little is mentioned how this knowledge is transferred and to who it is transferred. In this research the VO is not defined as a new organisation structure, but virtualness is an organisational dimension. The main research question is to investigate the relationshp between virtualness and knowledge development and transfer. Several dimensions are important in this respect: (a) the degree of virtualness; @) the context dependent indicators that indirectly influence virtualness; (c) knowledge development and transfer and (d) the consequences of different degrees of virtualness (and context dependent indicators) for knowledge development and transfer. It is assumed that knowledge development and transfer are affected by a high degree of virtualness. These questions are investigated with help of three case studies