Perspectives from ISB

I have been reading with interest the efforts made by several new players to use idle and spare resources to create new business models. I have borrowed the title from today’s NY Times. The idea is as old as B&B. One can rent rooms, cars, computers, labor, etc. Definitely, those in need of employment or additional money can use the business networks to contract safely. It also improves resource utilization. However, safety, reliability, service level guarantees remain a concern. What also characterizes these arrangements is that the contract between the business network operator and the service provider can vary greatly.