Keith Popplewell

Virtual Organisations: Collaboration Risk Evaluation and Management for Small and Medium Size Enterprises Keith Popplewell

SMEs in the 21 century have to cope with an increasingly dynamic and competitive environment. In order to work effectively within this environment, SMEs have to collaborate with other enterprises in forms of virtual organisations. Despite the increased interest in the area of virtual organisation collaboration, useful information is still lacking about the risk sources of virtual organisation, where the enterprise face more complicated risk threats than those in traditional enterprise due to the new form of relationships between partners. The aim of this research was to identify a risk management contribution where this research has identified key areas of risk that SMEs are likely to face when working collaboratively in VO. It also enables SMEs to understand the relative importance of these risks. A further contribution is made by use of tools (ISM and ANP) to enable SMEs to understand the inter-relationships of risk sources. Multiple analysis techniques provide triangulation of analysis results, leading to validation of results. Areas for further research are suggested to close the gaps and to continue enriching the research.