The utilisation of intranets as cooperation platforms in global innovation processes - opportunities and risks

The basic argument of our contribution is that the innovation activities in multinational companies have been internationalised more and more. The intranet, groupware and workflow management systems enable the improvement of communication, coordination and cooperation between different functions and dispersed locations in the innovation process. The requirements of the innovation process for information and communication technologies are analysed, various IC tools are described and linked to specific activities in the innovation process, and possible advantages and disadvantages are assessed.