Value-Based Partnering Structure Design for Networked Businesses: A Multi-Method Approach

The organizational practices required by dynamic market demands and increasing competitive markets include the formation of networked businesses. For the participants in a networked business to be able to promptly react to customers’ needs, they must set up as cornerstone a well-defined collaborative partnering structure. This paper first describes a framework that assists in the design of networked businesses. Then it discusses some approaches, such as object-oriented modeling, multi-agent modeling, and the use of ontological modeling as tools for designing networked businesses. However, these tools have fundamental shortcomings when dealing with the partnering structure concept. The paper proposes a new multimethod approach for the formalization of such a structure. Using an example, we illustrate that existing approaches for value modeling, roles specification, and responsibilities definition can be used successfully if employed in a unifying way to address this structure concept.