Control, virtual or reality?
...graphical, or time boundaries, progressively, organisations are adopting a more resource based view of the firm therefore, as Walters (2000) identifies, it is increasingly important that an organisation develops an ‘integrated and co-ordinated’ approach in relation to knowledge, technology and relationship management. Consequently, it becomes more feasible that the term ‘organisation’ is merely a label we attach to a fluid, social configuration (adapted from Chia 1995, cited in Rollinson et al p. 10), as organisations make the transition to virtuality. The concept of the virtual organisation has become more appealing in recent years due to the current economic climate, for example, since the deregulation of the banking sector, traditional banks such as Barclays and Lloyds, have faced increasing rivalry from non-traditional competitors such as internet banks (e.g. smile) and supermarkets (e.g. Sainsbury’s), which, surprisingly, they have been unable to compete with in terms of favourable interest rates. Therefore, they have sought alternative routes of gaining competitive advantage-developing their core competencies, which Byrne and Brandt (1992, cited in Walters, 2000) among others, stress as being a key success factor for any business, for example, via customer service, as Matt Barrett (CEO Barclays Bank Plc, 2000) identified, products and prices can easily be copied. Ironically, a common trend in the...