With the emergence of smart business networks, agile networks, etc. as important research areas in management, for all the attractiveness of these concepts, a major issue remains around their design and the selection rules. While smart business networks should provide advantages due to the quick connect of business partners for selected functions in a process common to several parties, literature does not provide constructive methods whereby the selection of temporary partners and functions can be done. Most discussions only rely solely on human judgment. This paper introduces both computational geometry, and genetic programming, as systematic methods whereby to display possible partnerships, and also whereby to plan for their effect on the organizations or functions of those involved. The two techniques are also been put in the context of emergence theory. Business maps address the first challenge with the use of Voronoï diagrams. Cellular automata, with genetic algorithms mimicking living bodies, address the second challenge.
This paper does not include experimental results, which have been derived in the high tech area to determine especially the adequateness of systems integrators to set up joint ventures with smaller technology suppliers