Computer Supported Collaboration of SMEs in Transnational Market

Abstract

The role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the economic and social development of the advanced and developing countries is well established. SMEs operating in a transnational market must constantly adapt to changing and turbulent organization environment and search for new possibilities of gaining competitive advantage. To face this challenge, SMEs base their operation on collaboration within Virtual Organizations (VOs). VO operation is based on collaborative processes. Due to dynamism and required flexibility of collaborative processes, existing business information systems are insufficient to efficiently support them. In this paper, a novel RMV method for supporting collaborative processes based on process mining techniques is proposed. The RMV method allows activity patterns in various instances of collaborative processes to be identified and used for recommendation of activities. This method provides an opportunity for better computer support of collaborative processes leading to more efficient and effective cooperation of small and medium-sized enterprises.