The Virtual Corporation: Structuring and Revitalizing the Corporation for the 21st Century [Paperback]

William H. Davidow (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 2, 1993

This work is an examination of the new strategies used by the most advanced corporations that are propelling the current industrial revolution. The book explains how ad hoc aggregates of companies - "virtual corporations" - are combining to deliver instantaneous, customized services and products. It identifies the driving forces that are transforming the marketplace and corporations: fast new information technologies; increased emphasis on quality; accelerated product development cycles; changing management practices, including new linkages between company, supplier and consumer, and between industry and government. William H. Davidow is the author of "Marketing High Technology" and "Total Customer Service". Michael S. Malone is the author of "The Big Score" and "Going Public".

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this worthwhile prognosis of the successful 21st-century business, Davidow, a venture capitalist, and Malone, a business writer, bring together findings on the effects of information technologies, organizational dynamics, and manufacturing systems on enterprises. The output resulting from these forces is the "virtual" product (most likely a service ) that "can be made available at any time, in any place, and in any variety." The authors' virtual corporation, epitomized by Lenscrafters, Taco Bell Express, and various semiconductor fabricators, harkens back to preindustrial artisans' crafting of pieces to customer specifications--but now with many times the responsiveness of those days. The authors see change as a nutrient in the organizations portrayed and say fostering trust and adaptability in employees will be vital in the new virtual corporation. Recommended for collections on modern business.
- Michael Stevenson, Harvard Business Sch. Lib.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A genuinely original work. . . Bravo!" -- --Tom Peters, coDauthor of In Search of Excellence

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; 1st edition (November 2, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887306578
• ISBN-13: 978-0887306570
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 0.8 x 5.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,948,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill Davidow has been a high-technology industry executive and venture capital investor for more than thirty years, having worked at managerial positions at Intel Corp., Hewlett Packard, and General Electric. He is now an active advisor to Mohr Davidow Ventures, a venture capital firm. An electrical engineer by training, he has earned degrees at Dartmouth College, the California Institute of Technology, and Stanford University and is the author of Marketing High Technology and a coauthor of Total Customer Service and The Virtual Corporation. His most recent book, Overconnected: The Promise and Threat of the Internet, was released January 4, 2011.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars philosophy of the future of business April 11, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I have read the book 4-5 years ago, and it sounded like science fiction to me, far future, but it did made lot of sense. I have also put my own money where my mouth is. I made my software development team 'Virtual'. Currently we have several people work on 2 continents, from own homes and doing a great job. Thanks to this book that gave me the great insights in change in emplyment and production patterns.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the standard June 16, 1997

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I have read this book 3 or 4 years ago the first time (in its German translation). There is still (June 1997) no better book for the strategies an philosophies of Virtual Corporations. It belongs to the 5 best and most often used business books I own

1 of 8 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Avoid this book. It is a 'virtual waste' of time. April 19, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

This book does not deliver any new insights or even clever examples of new business structures. I believe this book was written only for the intention of writing a book, and not to educate the reader. I even remember Andy Grove of Intel scoffing at the title when the book was publshed.