The Evolving Role of Coopetition within the Supply Chain

Firms are increasingly dependent on the knowledge and expertise in external organizations to innovate, problem-solve, and improve supply chain performance. As the risk associated with entering new markets or launching new products and technologies keeps increasing, firms have evolved from collaborating with buyers and suppliers to collaborating with competitors. This new form of collaboration where firms compete in one market and simultaneously cooperate in another is called coopetition. Building from three theoretical foundations, resource based theory, transaction cost theory and game theory we develop a model and associated propositions of the coopetition process. The four antecedents or drivers of coopetition include customer requirements, new products, new markets and new industry standards. The outcome of successful coopetition projects is improvements in firm performance. Using a structured interview process of 33 industry executives in India and Austria we offer empirical support for the model and propositions that can be used to better understand the process of coopetition. We found that top management support and intellectual property protection also plays a role in coopetition. Finally we discuss future research opportunities for academics and offer suggestions for managers to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their coopetition projects.