Article Abstract

	Title:	Going virtual in the e-world – an environment-adaptation perspective on organisational virtuality
	Author:	Yulin Fang, Linying Dong
	Address:	City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong. ' 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario M5B 2K3, Canada
	Journal:	International Journal of Information Technology and Management 2007 - Vol. 6, No.2/3/4  pp. 271 - 285
	Abstract:	Widespread applications of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and their advancements have led to a flourishing e-world, where organisations are profoundly changing their ways of doing business to take advantage of the electronic environment. An increasing number of organisations are going 'virtual', as part of the prevailing e-phenomenon, using ICTs to connect to geographically dispersed and functionally diverse units. Despite the sweeping trend of going virtual, the existing literature lacks a clear understanding of what makes an organisation virtual, and how environmental factors may affect the extent of organisational virtuality. To rectify this omission, this paper offers a definition of organisational virtuality. Based on the technical environment-adaptation theory, the authors investigate environmental influences on organisational form, and conclude the study with a discussion of the implications of going virtual for researchers and practitioners.
	Keywords:	virtuality; virtual organisations; environment-adaptation theory; ICT; organisational structure; e-phenomenon.
	DOI:	10.1504/IJITM.2007.014004
		Purchase this Paper         Comment on the Paper