Interorganizational network classification - A framework for studying industrial networks

The precious IFIP WG 5.7 working conference (Schonsleben, 1997) focused on the Extended Enterprise concept which this paper will elaborate on. Several important issues were addressed, and the conference and its proceedings included quite a broad spectrum of different situations. The discussions also revealed a need for clarifications of the concepts, and thus, the time is ripe for a classification effort. Many researchers have carried out the study of interorganizational networks from different perspectives like e.g. organization theory, strategy, marketing, supply chain management etc. This paper proposes a theoretical framework for studying interorganizational networks from a manufacturing perspective. By suggesting this framework we hope to stimulate the ongoing discussions of different manufacturing concepts and their relationships, and particulary the interorganizational issues.