Managing Distributed Innovation Processes in Virtual Organizations by Applying the Collaborative Network Relationship Analysis

Abstract

Distributed innovation processes are considered as a new option to handle both the complexity and the speed in which new products and services need to be prepared. Indeed most research on innovation processes was focused on multinational companies with an intra-organisational perspective. The phenomena of innovation processes in networks – with an inter-organisational perspective - have been almost neglected. Collaborative networks present a perfect playground for such distributed innovation processes whereas the authors highlight in specific Virtual Organisation because of their dynamic behaviour. Research activities supporting distributed innovation processes in VO are rather new so that little knowledge about the management of such research is available. With the presentation of the collaborative network relationship analysis this gap will be addressed. It will be shown that a qualitative planning of collaboration intensities can support real business cases by proving knowledge and planning data.