The virtues of the virtual organization

Abstract

Purpose This paper attempts to conceptually clarify and examine success factors for the establishment and subsequent sale of a successful small virtual organization, Millennium3, in the financial services sector in Australia. Findings The paper describes the concept of a virtual organization, outlines some distinct characteristics of virtual organizations and provides some historical and current background to Millennium3 (M3). It then provides a descriptive evaluation of outcomes from semi-structured interviews with all M3 executives and, based on those interviews and organizational structure, examines its overall performance. Practical implications It concludes with some critical success factors for M3 and gives the reader an idea how a corporation successfully works as a virtual organization.