Going virtual in the e-world – an environment-adaptation perspective on organisational virtuality Online publication date: Sun, 10-Jun-2007
by Yulin Fang, Linying Dong
International Journal of Information Technology and Management (IJITM), Vol. 6, No. 2/3/4, 2007
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.
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