1535 Strategies for Virtual Work Paul Jackson Edith Cowan University, Australia Jane E. Klobas Bocconi University, Italy University of Western Australia, Australia S introduction As capital searches for new markets, greater efficiencies and competitive advantage, time, space and the bound- aries of the firm become strategic enablers rather than operational hindrances. Mass customization, the ability to develop and deliver exactly what a customer needs, requires intimacy with their operations and the active participation of customers and customer communities in the design of solutions (Venkatraman & Henderson, 1998). The mobilization and leveraging of knowledge resources to create ideal solutions requires building teams of experts who are motivated, empowered and connected. These experts can be at home, in other of- configuring organizational human resources and work activities beyond the spatial, temporal and legal bound- aries of the firm. This "virtual work" runs a spectrum from working-from-home or at a client site to the distribution of discrete parts of the supply chain to anywhere in the world. It is a response to competitive market conditions where customers demand flexibil- ity, responsiveness and high performance. The rapid development of powerful digital communication and collaboration technologies has accelerated the physical distribution of staff and the dispersal of work teams to remote locations where the greatest leverage can be obtained from effort. Virtual working promises many benefits but brings its own set of challenges: the main-