Toward a Modeling Tool for Designing Control Mechanisms for Network Organizations

Vera Kartseva, Jaap Gordijn, and Yao-Hua Tan
International Journal of Electronic Commerce,
Volume 10, Number 2, Winter 2005-06, pp. 57.


Abstract: In network organizations and e-commerce, control mechanisms to guarantee interorganizational contract compliance enhance trust that business transactions are fair. In this paper, we propose a design technology, called e3-control, to develop such controls. The e3-control design methodology is an extension of the e3-value design methodology for business models, which models economic-value exchanges, rather than operational processes, between the organizations in a network. A methodology for designing control mechanisms should include three steps: (1) design an interorganizational value-exchange model of the network, (2) analyze interorganizational control problems within the network (i.e., possible violations of contractual obligations related to the value model), and (3) design control mechanisms to detect or prevent such control problems. The usability of the proposed e3-control design methodology is demonstrated in a case from the electrical industry.

Key Words and Phrases: Design methodology, interorganizational controls, value webs, virtual network organizations.