The use of information in strategic business networks

• The strategic network actors use modern information technology in order to link activities and tie resources. Common means of transferring written information are EDI and e-mail. The manner in which actors use written information to secure resources is therefore an essential issue for the development of strategic networks. The focus of this working paper is how the actors in a strategic networks use written information by way of e-mail. Since knowledge of how actors use written information by e-mail is limited, this paper endeavours to clarify how e-mail are used and to find factors to explain this use on the basis of the interaction and the network approach. There are three different purposes for using written information by e-mail. The actor could use the e-mail in order to coordinate activities, to control individuals and organizational units and to gain and provide new knowledge. In this paper we are concentrated on the controlling category. It is possible, according to Gadde & Håkansson (1993), to classify written information by e-mail into three different categories. The first category deals with the product, or the seller�s ability to resolve a problem the buyer may have, and its characteristics. The second category deals with the commercial terms negotiated before the decision to buy was made, i.e. the information the buyer requires making the order (prices, discounts, terms of delivery and payment). The third category deals with the structure of the transaction (appointments, volumes, method of delivery, formal rules and routines). The first category is referred to in this paper as the technical content, the second category as the commercial content, and the third category as the administrative content. In this paper we try to classify the written information by e-mail into the three different categories and then attempt to examine just how the actors use written information by way of e-mail to control organizational units and individuals.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Strategic networks

communication

information

content

Business studies

Företagsekonomi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)