Virtual enterprises: Strengthening SMES competitiveness via flexible businesses alliances

Abstract

This chapter presents some results of the implementation of the Collaborative Networks / Virtual Enterprise approaches in a group of mold-maker SMEs in the South of Brazil as a means to enhance their competitiveness. Working in collaboration more formally and intensively with each other leverages SMEs to better handle variable, on-demand and larger customer requests, thanks to the larger scale and wider pool of competences that companies get when working together. Those approaches allow SMEs to share resources, knowledge, risks, costs and benefits. This article also stresses the main obstacles and issues that have to be dealt with when implementing this strategy as well as good practices from a number of equivalent examples all over the world.