What does grid information technology really mean? Definitions, taxonomy and implications in the organisational field

Grid technologies are of increasing interest in science and technology all around the world. From the perspective of management, however, there have been very few studies analysing grids. This new phenomenon should be studied as another element in the technological infrastructures of firms, but this requires a clear specification of the content of the term ‘grid’. We also need to understand what types of technology are referred to by this new concept, how they are interrelated and what are the major strategic implications. With the current work we aim to achieve these objectives: we propose a definition for ‘grid information technology’; we establish an integrative classification of the different types of grid technologies and anticipate the strategic implications that grid technologies will exert on governance structures.