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Virtual Corporation

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The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management

Abstract

The ‘virtual corporation’ represents cases where companies outsource many of their activities to a variety of partners with the help of advances in information technology. It is often associated with rapidly changing environments, and the issue of competitive advantage can depend on the nature of innovation in such contexts. It has been argued that the virtual corporation can have efficiency advantages where innovation can be pursued independently of other innovations rather than when it requires related, complementary innovations on the part of other partners in the organizational system.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde, Argyll, PA23 7SP, UK

    Neil M. Kay

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  1. Neil M. Kay
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Correspondence to Neil M. Kay .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Stanford University , Stanford, California, USA

    Mie Augier

  2. Tusher Ctr Intellectual Capital, University of California Tusher Ctr Intellectual Capital, Berkeley, California, USA

    David J. Teece

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Kay, N.M. (2016). Virtual Corporation. In: Augier, M., Teece, D. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94848-2_530-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94848-2_530-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-94848-2

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