Global manufacturing virtual networks (GMVNs) constitute a new type of vertical and horizontal relations between independent companies or even competitors where it is not needed to maintain internal manufacturing resources but to manage and share the network resources. The fluid relations that exist within the GMVNs allow them a very permeable organization easy to connect and disconnect from one to each other as well as to choose a set of partners with specific attributes. The result is a highly flexible system characterized by low barriers to entry and exit, geographic flexibility, low costs, rapid technological diffusion, high diversification through contract manufacturers and exceptional economies of scale and specialization. This paper analyses the causes behind the formation of such networks, their strategy, structure, dynamics and culture, taking into account areas such as strategic alliances between competitors, the permeable and diffuse nature of the network actors, the inherent paradox of collaborating with competitors, cross-cultural issues or information and communication technologies at the network level. This work will clarify and put these organizations in perspective and will analyze their evolution over the next few years.

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Keywords: Global manufacturing virtual network Manufacturing strategies Mass customization Aeronautical industryThe evolution of organizations that work in multinational environments has considerably altered their production strategies. One of the consequences has been the appearance of Global Manufacturing Virtual Networks (GMVNs), which include all kinds of enterprises and production centres and establish a new type of horizontal collaboration and relations between independent companies and even competitors who establish occasional collaborations on projects they could not take on individually. This paper analyses the causes behind the formation of such networks, their strategy, structure, dynamics and evolution, taking into account areas such as strategic intercompany alliances, synchronization of their value and supply chains, their information systems, the cultural aspects of the organizations in question and, finally, their convergence with another of the more relevant future trends in production: mass customization. The proposed model shall be applied to the aeronautical industry which is one of the industries which has developed the GMVN concept. The case study of the engine manufacturer Rolls Royce will provide a better understanding of the evolution of its strategic positioning, as well as the dynamic and fluent nature of its virtual relations. This will demonstrate its effectiveness by clarifying and putting these organizations in perspective and analyzing their evolution over the next few years.

Global Manufacturing Virtual Networks (GMVNs) are dynamically changing organizations formed by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Contract Manufacturers (CMs), turn-key and component suppliers, R+D centres and distributors. These networks establish a new type of vertical and horizontal relations between independent companies or even competitors where it is not needed to maintain internal manufacturing resources but to manage and share the network resources. The fluid relations that exist within the GMVNs allow them a very permeable organization easy to connect and disconnect from one to each other as well as to choose a set of partners with specific attributes. The result is a highly flexible system characterized by low barriers to entry and exit, geographic flexibility, low costs, rapid technological diffusion, high diversification through contract manufacturers and exceptional economies of scale. Anyhow, there are three major drawbacks in the GMVNs that should be considered at the beginning of this type of collaborations: 1) the risk of contract manufacturers to develop their own end-products in competition with their customers; 2) the technology transfer between competitors OEMs through other members of the GMVN and 3) the lose of process expertise by the OEMs the more they outsource manufacturing processes to the network.

Resumen: Las redes virtuales de fabricación global (RVFGs) están formadas por empresas independientes las cuales establecen entre sí relaciones de tipo horizontal y vertical, pudiendo incluso ser competidores, donde no es necesario mantener internamente grandes recursos fabriles sino gestionar y compartir eficientemente los recursos de la red. Sin embargo, los riesgos inherentes de estas redes de colaboración, entre OEMs competidores y proveedores también son numerosos. Para evitar esto, los OEMs utilizan una serie de mecanismos estructurales como los posicionamientos centralizados en la red o el uso de los agujeros estructurales para así conseguir mantener un poder tácito en la RVFG. Este trabajo demostrará cómo se gestiona el poder en estas organizaciones y la importancia de estos mecanismos mediante un estudio cuantitativo en uno de los sectores donde más han crecido las RVFGs, la industria de fabricación de motores aeronáuticos. Palabras clave:Redes virtuales de fabricación global, agujeros estructurales, industria aeronáutica. Abstract: Global manufacturing virtual networks (GMVNs) constitute a new type of organization based on vertical and horizontal relations between independent companies or even competitors where it is not needed to maintain internal manufacturing resources but to manage and share the network resources. The result is a highly flexible system characterized by low barriers to entry and exit, geographic flexibility, low costs, rapid technological diffusion