Reference Models for Virtual Organisations

General consensus on a limited set of hierarchical organization types has propelled the development of the industrial organization at the beginning of the 20th century. This paper presents a study of organizational patterns across 20 projects that could be early descriptions of possible types of virtual organizations at the beginning of the 21st century. We look at information systems, and more important, coordination roles, network structure, and strategies as complementary elements of a consistent structure and propose three distinct basic types of virtual organizations: supply chain, lead contractor, and peer projects.