Over the years, we have seen a growing interest in the use of interorganizational networks as a means to develop and deliver ever more complex products and services. Much of the earlier research was carried out on supply networks — mostly focused on strong lead-manufacturing firms producing...

This paper explains how a class of IT-intensive capital goods called control systems are used to co-ordinate the flow of goods, traffic, materials, funds, services or information through complex supply, production or distribution systems. The paper examines how they increase productivity by...