There is a growing amount of evidence that the firm is being replaced as the traditional model of wealth creation. Although this may sound like a radical statement, evidence is mounting that new forms of doing business, other than the traditional firm, are emerging-all based on the Internet. EBCs are networks of suppliers, distributors, commerce providers and customers that execute substantial business communications and transactions via the Internet and other electronic media. They enable the creation and marketing of unique new values for customers in ways that dramatically reduce time, share risk and trim cost.
Control is either self-organizing or hierarchical.
Some EBCs are hierarchical in that they have a top company that controls the content of value and the flow of transactions. On the other hand, stock exchanges and auctions are self-organizing. No single entity or class of entity drives the content of transactions on the economic outcomes. Value integration is rated low to high. Others, like supermarkets, provide low-value integration and facilitate trade in a diverse basket of goods and services.