Motivation and Research Questions This work seeks to further our understanding on the management of innovations in network industries. Although the economics of network markets like telecommuni- tions, Internet, email, media, computer, and service operations in banking, legal and airline industries have become a major field of economic research; knowledge about how to manage innovation within these markets is less advanced et al. 2000: 793; 2003: 198). The goods and services of these industries regularly manifest themselves as complex system products, which are composed of multiple mutually dependent components and often supplied by different industries 1998: 691; TIDD 1995: 308). Innovation processes associated with complex systems products, therefore, display a systemic character and the issue of how to coordinate the diverse but nevertheless complementary inputs poses a major challenge for innovation management. The issue of how to organise complex innovation projects, however, is still open for debate: A broad range of organisational forms–e. g, vertical integration and TEECE (1996: 68), TEECE (1996: 205), and (2001: 227); decentralised networks–BRESNAHAN and (1999: 13-14); (1999: 162) and (1992: 310); proje- organisationsmHOBDAV (2000: 892) has not only been theoretically derived, but is reported as well in practical use.
