This study deals with the organisation of innovation projects of multinational companies. The
focus is on learning processes which occur within the company group as well as those taking
place between the company and its regional environment. This work establishes a bridge between
organisational and regional learning. Three dilemmas of innovation can thereby be identified:
the dilemma between formalisation and flexibilisation mirrors that organisations are defined as
stable and structured entities whilst innovation is a process of renewal and change. The
configuration dilemma reflects the choice between a concentrated setting and international
dispersal of innovation activities. The dilemma of regional (dis)embeddedness points at the
tension between exploiting available resources and pursuing a regionally detached strategy.
Qualitative case-studies of specific innovation projects provide empirical in-depth
insights.This book was awarded the first prize in the catagory Dissertations of the
Weser-Ems-Wissenschaftspreis 2011.
