Social Requirements for Virtual Organization Breeding Environments

TL;DR

This paper explores how chambers of commerce can act as third-party creators of Virtual Breeding Environments (VBEs) by using Social Network Analysis metrics to specify social requirements for VBE creation and operation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach of applying SNA metrics to define social requirements for VBE creation by third-party organizations, filling a gap in existing research.

Findings

Proposes SNA metrics as a tool for VBE social requirement specification.

Defines social requirements for VO planners, brokers, and members.

Highlights the role of chambers of commerce in VBE creation.

Abstract

The creation of Virtual Breeding Environments (VBE) is a topic which has received too little attention: in most former works, the existence of the VBE is either assumed, or is considered as the result of the voluntary, participatory gathering of a set of candidate companies. In this paper, the creation of a VBE by a third authority is considered: chambers of commerce, as organizations whose goal is to promote and facilitate business interests and activity in the community, could be good candidates for exogenous VBE creators. During VBE planning, there is a need to specify social requirements for the VBE. In this paper, SNA metrics are proposed as a way for a VBE planner to express social requirements for a VBE to be created. Additionally, a set of social requirements for VO planners, VO brokers, and VBE members are proposed.