The complexity of R&D projects and growing international competition are factors leading to more co‐operation especially among small and medium‐sized firms. But even large integrated firms are often not willing or able to perform the necessary amount of R&D and to cope with the uncertainty associated with radical innovations.In a virtual company, members form a network, thereby enabling projects to be pursued by combining member’s resources. Specific assets of a virtual company are its flexibility and ability to handle variety. Costs of co‐ordination and motivation are lowered if the virtual company succeeds in building trust and commitment. On the other hand, lack of these pose severe problems.In markets with a strong scientific‐technological basis and rapid rate of change the concept of a virtual organization seems appealing. High R&D costs and risks can be shared, developments and time‐to‐market can be accelerated and the partners can concentrate on their respective core competencies.In the paper we use an example from the biotechnology industry as a case study and discuss some of the theoretical and practical problems that are encountered in the virtual enterprise.

In recent years, much attention has been given to product introduction by managers, consultants and academics. Although many companies are actively improving their new product introduction processes, many are merely applying prescriptive techniques without fully understanding their processes. Very few companies use self-assessment techniques on the product introduction process because it is believed by many that product introduction is too complex and too diverse. This paper argues that self-assessment can be applied to global product introduction (the most complex operating scenario) and a framework for applying the technique is suggested

It is argued that the degree of technical and marketing aggressiveness has an impact on the performance of a firm. The reasons for this are explored drawing upon a number of recent research studies. The conclusions are that these two dimensions, which are identifiable in practice, are useful descriptors of important organizational characteristics and as such provide information for managerial decisions