Benefits and Drawbacks of Coopetition: The Roles of Scope and Durability in Coopetitive Relationships

Joanna Cygler, Włodzimierz Sroka, Marina Solesvik and Katarzyna Dębkowska
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Joanna Cygler: Collegium of Business Administration, Warsaw School of Economics, 02-554 Warsaw, Poland
Włodzimierz Sroka: Faculty of Applied Sciences, WSB University, 41-300 Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland
Marina Solesvik: Nord University Business School, Nord University, Universitetsaleen, 8049 Bodø, Norway
Katarzyna Dębkowska: Faculty of Management Engineering, Bialystok University of Technology, 15-001 Białystok, Poland

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-24

Abstract: The growing importance of cooperative relationships may currently be observed throughout the world. The vast majority of such relationships take the form of coopetition, i.e., the simultaneous existence of cooperation and competition between competitors. Previous research on coopetition characterizes these relationships mostly in the context of the benefits achieved. Researchers emphasize a number of benefits resulting from coopetition, e.g., stimulation of innovations of partners, development of the technology, obtaining complementary resources, entering new markets, or creating new products. However, when deciding to begin coopetition, companies should not only consider the benefits, but also the drawbacks associated with such relationships. This is due to the fact that disadvantages are inherent features of coopetitive relationships between competitors. The relationship between the duration of cooperative relationships in particular areas and the benefits and costs associated with these relationships is scarcely researched. Using a sample of 210 companies operating in the high-tech sector in Poland, we aimed to cover this gap in the knowledge base and to analyze this aspect of coopetition. Several research methods including multidimensional correspondence analysis, correlation analysis of qualitative variables, a chi-square test, multi-table analysis, and association rules were applied. The results of our research showed that coopetition is a viable strategy which contributes to the sustainable development of firms. We also found that the duration of coopetitive relationships in different areas of company activity is related to different types of benefits to collaboration partners.

Keywords: coopetition; benefits and drawbacks of coopetition; scope and durability of coopetition; competitors; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

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