Market of Resources as an Environment for Agile/Virtual Enterprise Dynamic Integration and for Business Alignment

Abstract

We are assisting to a shift from traditional “self-centred closed-enterprises” to “global open-enterprises,” corresponding to the recent Agile/Virtual Enterprise (A/V E) model. This new organisational model, where market information concerns information about resources to integrate an A/V E, although reinforced by the ability to use more globally distributed resources and by lower transaction costs provided by information and communication technologies, claims for a wider support environment, able to assure better quality and better response at lower time. This corresponds to the concept of Market of Resources, proposed by the authors as an environment for A/V E dynamic integration and for business alignment. The chapter describes the main functionalities of the Market of Resources, with a special focus on the specification of its creation, operation and maintenance.