What is Business Network

The notion of networks in business, i.e. structures of heterogeneous relationships between firms interacting for business purposes (Todeva, 2006), is not new in the economic literature. Today, however, this concept is becoming popular again since the diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the globalization of competition have led to the emergence of new inter-organizational forms that the literature denotes with various terms (e.g. extended/virtual enterprises, global networks, knowledge networks, extended supply chains, etc.), and are characterized as follows: 1. companies interact with other companies, often on a regular base, because they are not able to manage all the knowledge needed to pursue their strategies in a global and turbulent environment; 2. there is a subdivision of tasks and activities among business partners, but also shared goals whose achievement affects the success of the individual company; 3. companies are scattered globally, and make intense use of ICT applications to communicate.