Virtual corporation

Virtual Corporation Similar to Virtual Business, a Virtual Corporation can operate without a physical identity (on-line business, e.g. Amazon.com). Brick and mortar companies can also dovetail concepts of the Virtual Corporation into the business. For example, Many brick and mortar companies also have websites that enable e-commerce. Many brick and mortar companies leverage their telecommunications infrastructure with the goal of reducing costs (telecommute or WFH-work from home). Many brick and mortar companies are leveraging Web 2.0 (mass collaboration) to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. This may include outsourcing many of the business functions like marketing, operations management and new product development. This also includes collaborating with suppliers and competitors in certain situations.

The virtual corporation can be a temporary network of independent companies--suppliers, customers, competitors, linked by information technology to share skills, costs, and access to one another's markets. It will have no hierarchy nor vertical integration. [Business Week] Also known as a cooperative agreement between two or more businesses entities to combine their resources in order to achieve a shared goal. By bringing in additional partners, unlimited skills and resources can be pooled. Partnerships are usually temporary and are dissolved once a common goal is achieved. [Barron's Marketing Dictionary] They do not have corporate offices and usual have no bricks or mortar tied to them.

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