Emergence of virtual or network organizations: fad or feature

The information age has highlighted the complex nature of our organizing systems. Complex systems move between ordered and disordered states. Ordered states condense near attractor points which include bifurcation points where order is redefined for the system. Such points have occurred repeatedly in our economy over the past decade, causing an unpredictable environment. As our economy moves from a stable state, a different set of organizing rules is needed. When this new set of organizing rules are overlaid with the conditions and processes facilitated by the use of advanced communication and computing technology, we find that virtual or network organizations are an emerging logical form for organizing.