‘New Business’ Paradigms, Part Four—Partnering:
We are witnessing the effects of the network paradigm in many aspects of
human endeavors, but most directly in the business world. The new partnership
between AOL and SUN described in the 3/25/99 San Jose Mercury News (Business
section, page 1C, www.sjmercurynews.com) is an example of how this paradigm
is influencing business practices and models.
The AOL/SUN business partnership is so new that there is not even a name for
it. It’s not a merger or a buy-out. ‘Partnership,’ which has come to mean
organizations agreeing to do business with one another, isn’t specific enough
either because theirs is an exchange of money for stock as well as staff
cooperation to co-develop certain technologies. In the SJMerc article, the
reporter referred to the business arrangement as a ‘virtual organization’ or
a ‘strategic alliance.' Both companies admit they don't know exactly what to
call their venture together.
We don’t have a name for this partnership because it is based on the new
paradigm of the ARPA net— a network of connections or pathways for
information distribution and resource sharing. The network is a new business
paradigm bringing with it new ideas and structures, and these require naming
and new uses of language.
As the network paradigm continues to permeate the understanding and
consciousness of business leaders and consumers, what new objects and ideas
will be born into the physical world out of the digital/virtual non-physical
world? And how will these new constructs affect our future? What business
models we will use? How will we make money? How will we communicate with one
another? How will day-to-day life be transformed?
Tune in next week for some predictions.
