Risk-Management of Product Development in Nonhierarchical Regional Production Networks

Co-operation in non- hierarchical networks is a newly developed approach to value adding in small and medium-sized enterprises. The special research program No 457 (promoted by the German Foundation for research DFG) investigates pools of units of competence, which can be integrated equally into various areas of value adding. The following article concentrates mainly on the planning areas like product development in non - hierarchic networks. Due to the shared competencies the risk assessment poses a particular problem in networks of that kind.