Complex products and systems (CoPS) development demands effective risk management, which is frequently impeded by a lack of clarity regarding the impact of risks on performance. This study aims to investigate how multiple risks jointly affect innovation performance in CoPS projects. Based on the configurational theory and WSR framework, we use fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) with data from 97 CoPS projects and examine the combined effects of risks on innovation performance. We identify two types leading to high innovation performance and four patterns causing low innovation performance. The results verify the asymmetrical causality of the influence of risks on innovation performance in CoPS projects. The findings contribute to broadening the relationship studies of risk and innovation performance by adopting an empirical method in the context of CoPS. Moreover, our study can help managers implement flexible risk management activities within CoPS projects, by addressing several equivalent and distinctive paths.