The virtual corporation : learning from construction

Manufacturing organisations are evolving towards virtual corporations, under the influence of an increasing need for specialisation. In the literature and in management the virtual corporation is advocated as the way of doing business for the twenty-first century. However, in the construction industry, co-operation in networks has long since been common practice. At the same time, the construction industry is known for its poor controllability. The manufacturing industry should, therefore, learn from the construction industry in order to avoid such problems. A typology for co-operation and co-ordination in construction is presented in this paper. Each of the types is evaluated for its strengths and weaknesses and conclusions are drawn regarding their applicability in manufacturing.