“…With , changes in one component do not affect any of the other components, while with , i.e., for a maximally complex product, each component depends on (and affects) every other. This view on interdependencies in product design can be traced back to Simon (1962), who studied design principles to solve complex problems resulting from complex architectural interactions, and to subsequent work on 1 Several management and innovation scholars following the seminal work by Levinthal (1997) have used the NK-model to represent innovation-related, complex tasks, such as the solving of complex design problems (Baumann & Siggelkow, 2013;Frenken, Marengo, & Valente, 1999;Querbes & Frenken, 2018), new product development processes (Mihm, Loch, & Huchzermeier, 2003), technological evolution (Frenken, 2007;Querbes & Frenken, 2017), production techniques (Auerswald, Kauffman, Lobo, & Shell, 2000), and innovation projects (Sommer & Loch, 2004).…”