Virtual Enterprise Networks in Europe - Economic Opportunities and Legal Challenges

Virtual enterprises (VEs) are a result of e-business which emerged as a reaction to fast evolving market trends. We discuss organizational as well as legal implications. These are of importance for a proper functioning of this new form of business partnership. This paper will show the needs for virtual enterprising and obstacles to the future development of which the issue of trust is one of the most important. Especially consumers' trust could be enhanced by a clear regulation of VE's liability which has so far not been covered in the literature. We will therefore present several models on possible liability rules and a concept which meets the requirements of providing adequate economic incentives for the participating companies and being easy to handle by consumers as a policy recommendation for future harmonization of Member States' National Law