Introduction

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An increasingly large number of companies use information technology (IT) for more than operational and management support (Rackoff et al., 1985). In particular, with the rapid advance of telecommunications technology, firms have searched for strategic opportunities from computer networks linking organizations. The information and communications technology that transcends traditional organizational boundaries has been termed inter-organizational systems (Applegate et al., 1996; Cash & Konsynski, 1985; Kumar & Dissel, 1996). Inter- organizational systems (IOSs) function to blur the boundaries of today’s organizations as they enable information to flow from one organization to another (Kaufman, 1966; Konsynski, 1993).

The common purpose of traditional IOSs has been to support firms’ value chains, so that they can better compete in the market. The IOSs that have emerged in recent years, however, increasingly support partnering among organizations. That is, there is a shift in the role of IT—from a competition weapon to a cooperation enabler among businesses. It is necessary to view IOSs in a broader context that encompasses not only the traditional value chain but also partner- ships and strategic alliances among firms within an industry. This paper addresses the need to incorporate the increasing trend of partnership formation among business firms into a framework for B2B IOSs. The existing frameworks are either too complex to be applied to IOS planning or too outdated with respect to the many forms of emerging global networks.

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