How Well-Established Firms Prepare for the New Economy: An Empirical Study on the Development of New Economy Initiatives

In this study we investigated 30 ventures in four large firms. We categorized four projects as characterized by "new economy" principles. These were projects that focused on increasing returns. We compared these four projects to four "traditional economy " initiatives in terms of their trajectories and characteristics. We found that the "new economy" initiatives involved more cooperation across firm boundaries, required flexible organizational forms of venturing, used more pilot projects, and involved top management as a crucial element in their success.