This transition is forced by fiercer global competition, the transformation of manufacturing to information processing enterprise, the faster pace of decision-making, and natural evolution from older forms of organizing work. Virtual work communities are predicted to become the normative form of organization in the future. There are many recent popular books and articles on virtual organizations , which attest to their critical importance. Much of the attention surrounding virtual work communities focuses on technology. The infrastructure provided by the Internet, World Wide Web and other high speed digital networks facilitates virtual collectives.
Technology is only an enabler, however.
Thus, although considerable engineering research has been directed toward information technology applications for concurrent engineering design, a significant gap still exists. While more is known about collaborative work systems, much of it stems from laboratory research that has had limited applicability to real world working environments. Even rarer is research that links critical social and engineering components together into a broader, more inclusive model of the interface of information technology and collaboration. This lack of research exists because these communities represent a fundamental change from prior forms of organizing. They invoke a paradigmatic shift in thinking about notions of work, from the traditional theme of competition to the evolving theme of collaboration.