To organise innovation processes multinational corporations (MNC) can count on an isolated project in only one subsidiary as well as they can count on corporation-wide and external co-operation. Compared with innovation projects, which are undertaken at only one location, such heterogeneous co-operation offers the chance to integrate also the knowledge of other locations and companies. At the same time they imply substantial challenges for MNCs, because heterogeneity increases clearly by transnational as well as by inter-company co-operation in development projects. In view of the uncertainties of innovation projects and the risks, which are connected with these different forms of heterogeneous co-operation, companies fall back on different forms of (socially constructed) security ("trust"), for example on company-wide control and coordination structures in MNCs or on reliable institutional regulations within the framework of national innovation systems.

The goal of this project is to shed light on the internal handling of these different forms of heterogeneous co-operation in the context of operational innovation projects. For this purpose there will be conducted eight case studies on innovation in German and British MNCs belonging to the sector of automotive and automotive supplier industry as well as to the sector of medical technology.

Prof. Dr. Martin Heidenreich

Dipl.-Soz. tech. Michael Florian

Dipl.-Kffr. Sinje Späth

Prof. G. Nick von Tunzelmann

The project is financed by the German Research Foundation, 2008 - 2012