Coopetition as the new trend in inter-firm alliances: literature review and research patterns

Coopetition, exploration and exploitation capabilities, and growth performance in digital healthcare ventures

Introduction

Studies focusing on coopetition and dynamic capabilities have expanded significantly over the past several decades. Coopetition strategy and dynamic capabilities are increasingly recognised as sources of sustained competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the factors driving growth performance in digital healthcare ventures by examining the role of coopetition, exploration and exploitation capabilities, and environmental uncertainty. While numerous studies have examined the competitive advantage of coopetition, its specific contribution to the growth of ventures in the digital realm remains less explored. Clarifying the strategic role of coopetition in driving growth performance is critical for delineating the intricate relationship between coopetition and growth performance, particularly in the context of digital healthcare ventures. To fill in this research gap, this study uses coopetition theory and dynamic capabilities theory to look at how exploration and exploitation capabilities, as well as environmental uncertainty, affect the relationship between coopetition and growth performance in digital healthcare ventures.

Methods

We collected a total of 338 questionnaires from Chinese digital healthcare ventures between March 2023 and August 2023. We conducted data analysis using SPSS 26.0 and its macro-program PROCESS.

Results

Our results confirm that coopetition has a positive effect on growth performance in digital healthcare ventures. Furthermore, exploration and exploitation capabilities fully mediate the relationship between coopetition and growth performance. Moreover, environmental uncertainty significantly and distinctively moderates the impact of exploration and exploitation capabilities on growth performance.

Discussion

This study contributes to the existing literature by providing deeper insight into the relationship between coopetition and growth performance in digital healthcare ventures. It also offers important practical implications for public health improvement and socio-economic development.

A game theory data science-based mechanism for licensed pharmaceutical products concerning their deterioration: a case of a micro, small, and medium enterprise in Iran

One of the main characteristics of health systems and pharmaceutical supply chains is their significant costs in the public sector, which has forced governments and companies active in this field to find ways to reduce costs. In this paper, the deterioration of imported pharmaceutical items is investigated as one of the challenges of the supply chain of pharmaceutical firms. Specifically, the micro, small medium enterprise (MSME), and a collaborative strategy to reduce its costs is presented. The technical solution of the cooperative strategy is the formation of a partnership alliance between the foreign patent holder of brand drugs and a domestic manufacturer through an exclusive license contract in the local country. This leads to a significant reduction of costs in the distribution network of the pharmaceutical supply chain. On the other hand, supply chain management techniques in the cooperative strategy provide the necessary motivation for its practical implementation by splitting fair profits between producers and other members, namely local government, distributors, and pharmacies. For these purposes, a cooperative game theory-based contract is utilized to set the parameters of the license agreement, and then a profit-sharing mechanism is introduced that splits the benefits of cooperation among the supply chain members based on their afforded costs. The most important contribution of the current research is to propose an integrated framework that combines the logistics network models, valuation methods, and profit split mechanisms that embody more facts from real-world problems than separate models in this regard in previous studies. Moreover, results of the proposed strategy in the supply chain of a drug for thalassemia patients in Iran indicate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy in reducing costs and deterioration. Further, it is shown that the higher the ordering costs of the imported drugs, the lower the market share of the patent holder, and the lower the financing expenses of the cooperative alliance, the more efficient is the proposed strategy.

"Frenemies" of innovation: understanding the role of coopetition in service innovation in emerging markets

Coopetition is considered an important strategy for innovation. However, the literature provides limited evidence on how coopetition relates to innovation in service sector, particularly in emerging markets. Moreover, little is known about the effects of the formal and informal aspects of coopetition on innovation and how absorptive capacity of firm may influence this relationship. Against this background, using the official national innovation surveys of Nigeria (2008 and 2011), this study contributes to the ongoing debate by empirically examining the innovation endeavors of 421 Nigerian SMEs. The study employs logistic regression methods to model and explore the relationships between coopetition and innovation in the sample. The results show that that formal coopetition hinders innovation while informal coopetition supports it and absorptive capacity moderates these relationships. The study provides important insights about the concept of coopetition in emerging markets, especially vis-à-vis their institutional idiosyncrasies. Finally, the study highlights its implications and suggests some avenues for future research.

Understanding the relationship between networks, startup risk-taking behaviour, and digitalization: the role of ecosystem coopetition

Technology that develops rapidly has profoundly affected the business field and reshaped some behaviours of corporations, and the discussion on startup risk-taking behaviour in the new era is still insufficient. Based on social network theory and social capital theory, this article studies how social networks and entrepreneurial ecosystems support startup risk-taking behaviour. This article cuts into this issue through the perspective of coopetition. Based on 737 responses, this article employs regression and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to explore the relationships between networks, ecosystem coopetition, and risk-taking behaviour. Results indicate that networks and coopetition may stimulate startup risk-taking behaviour, and coopetition may weaken the impacts of networks. There are replacement effects between different characteristics of networks, and there are several configurations, which may lead to high-level risk-taking. This article may help us understand startup risk-taking behaviour in the digital era and the positive impacts of ecosystems.

The contingent effects of coopetition on new product development under dual institutional interactions: evidence from China

Purpose

Integrating the coopetition perspective with institutional theory, this study aims to determine how balanced patterns (BPs) and combinative patterns (CPs) of coopetition impact firms’ new product development (NPD) and how these effects are contingent on the various types of interactions between firms and the institutional environments in which they are embedded.

Design/methodology/approach

To test the hypotheses, 303 firms in China were surveyed. Based on the responses, the proposed model was estimated using structural equation modeling and hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

The findings indicate that CP of coopetition enhances NPD but a BP of coopetition impedes NPD. Further, the results suggest that obtaining government support positively moderates the effect of the CP on NPD but negatively moderates the effect of the BP. Conversely, influencing government policy negatively moderates the effect of the CP but positively moderates that of the BP on NPD.

Research limitations/implications

The findings indicate that different patterns of inter-firm coopetition may have different effects on NPD, thus, providing a holistic and dynamic understanding of the contingent value of coopetition for NPD. The findings also suggest that the complex effects of coopetition on NPD are influenced by institutional interactions, introducing further contingencies to the process of coopetition-based innovation.

Practical implications

This study provides guidelines for managers seeking to fully understand and capitalize on the dual nature of coopetition: they should be cautious about the different patterns of competition – cooperation interaction and manage their interactions with institutional environments to increase the benefits and avoid the potential damage that different types of coopetition may bring.

Originality/value

This study offers direct insights into the balanced nature of coopetition and opens up an avenue for further exploration of the specific effects of cooperation dominance and competition dominance on firm performance in the business-to-business context. Moreover, the proposed contingency model offers a potential interface between institutional and coopetition research on NPD in marketing and strategic fields.

Locked-in resources, coopetitive relationship stability and innovation

Purpose

This conceptual paper uses the resource-based theory (RBT) of the firm to argue that for competitors to improve their innovation through a cooperative relationship – coopetitive relationship – they need to work on building a stable relationship with each other by investing a special type of resources, namely locked-in resources.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw on RBT criteria to argue that when the antecedent – the locked-in resources – and the mediator – the relationship stability – are valuable, rare, inimitable and organized (VRIO), they will help the parties involved achieve sustained competitive advantage from the coopetitive relationship.

Findings

This paper argues that locked-in resources lead to higher coopetitive relationship stability by reducing the impact of opportunistic behavior from any of the partners. More stable relationship leads to more innovations especially radical innovations. In addition, the nature of the industry plays a moderating role. The industry's competitive intensity affects the relationship between locked-in resources and relationship stability. The industry's age affects the relationship between stability and innovation quantity and type.

Research limitations/implications

This conceptual paper anchors its arguments within the RBT related to the firm's strategic resources (VRIO) characteristics and applies the same arguments (VRIO) beyond the firm level to the coopetitive relationship level. The model invites researchers and practitioners to consider two new constructs namely locked-in resources and coopetitive relationship stability in order to build successful coopetitive relationships.

Practical implications

This paper contributes considerably and in a practical manner to managers as it draws their attention to the importance of investing a special type of resources, namely locked-in resources and ensuring the relationship stability with their coopetitors to achieve the desired outcome. It also draws the managers' attention to the impact industry's competitive intensity and industry's age have on the quality of the relationship and on the innovation outcomes.

Originality/value

A distinct contribution of this conceptual paper is the introduction of two new constructs: locked-in resources and coopetitive relationship stability. Locked-in resources are valuable within the coopetitive relationship and they improve the second construct or relationship stability. Relationship stability is different from relationship strength as it leads to more trust between partners over longer periods of time.

Entrepreneurial orientation and new venture performance in emerging markets: the mediating role of opportunity recognition

How entrepreneurial orientation facilitates the identification of new opportunities in newly established ventures in emerging economies remains largely unexplored. Approaching entrepreneurial orientation as a second order latent construct, we examined the mediating role of opportunity recognition on new venture performance. Using a survey data from 316 SMEs, the results of the analysis in SmartPLS highlights that entrepreneurial orientation indirectly contributes to the performance of new ventures, where the relationship is partially mediated by opportunity recognition. The findings show that firms with high entrepreneurial orientation can identify and exploit new opportunities as well as enjoy superior performance.

Coopetition for Sustainable Competitiveness: R&D Collaboration in Perspective of Productivity

This study explores the effect of coopetition on research and development (R&D) productivity in two stages of the innovation process: (1) value creation to develop new technology and (2) value appropriation to generate profits. Using a sample from the 2010 and 2014 Korea Innovation Survey, we applied the propensity score matching methodology to control selective bias and the two-stage network data envelopment analysis methodology to measure R&D productivity. Our findings indicate that firms who cooperate with competitors in the value creation stage have relatively higher R&D productivity than those who do not. In contrast, firms that pursue the coopetition strategy showed relatively low R&D productivity in the value appropriation stage. Overall, this study provides a better understanding of coopetition by demonstrating its various benefits, costs, and risks.

Development of an integrated framework regarding inter-firm collaborative business strategies

Purpose

The author, with the help of a conceptual and integrated review of inter-firm collaborative strategies literature, developed an integrated perspective framework regarding inter-firm collaborative business strategies (IFCBS). The purpose of this study is to attain a holistic comprehension regarding IFCBS.

Design/methodology/approach

The author undertook a conceptual integrated literature review to arrive at the integrated framework on IFCBS. Argumentative and incremental logic was applied to develop the integrated perspective. This is as advocated by scholars (Barney, 2018; Whetten, 1989; Bacharach, 1989; Weick, 1989; Smithey Fulmer, 2012; Cornelissen, 2017, 2019).

Findings

This work contributed to theory by conceptualizing an integrated perspective framework. The integrated framework regarding inter-firm collaborative strategy was developed based upon the six conceptual elemental questions proposed and discussed in the papers. These were drawn from extant literature developed from the theoretical aspects regarding various aspects of participation between collaborating firms. It was also based upon the dominant and dormant roles played by the partnering firms as well as the objectives of the partnership. The six conceptual elemental questions were as follows: “Why to cooperate?”; “When to cooperate?”; “Which partners to collaborate with?”; “Where to cooperate?”; “How to cooperate?”; and “What are the benefits of collaboration?”

Research limitations/implications

There was contribution of this conceptual theoretical work in a couple of ways. First, IFCBS have been conceptualized with a reductionist point of view into six conceptual elemental blocks. These acted as antecedent, mediating and dependent factors. Second, an integrated framework on IFCBS was developed.

Practical implications

This work would help strategy managers to secure a holistic understanding regarding planning and execution of inter-firm collaborative strategies. The conceptual elements indicated in the study would help managers assess the factors regarding which managers should focus on with priority. Further, the factors that might hinder post-collaboration success have also been conceptualized in this work for easy comprehension of the managers. The framework proposed would help managers to comprehend regarding what type of inter-firm collaborative strategy their firm should embark upon so that there would be maximum post-collaboration success. The type of inter-firm collaborative strategies to be followed would be dependent upon the dominance or dormancy of the collaborating partners regarding the conceptual elements as well as the goals to be attained and secured from the inter-firm collaborative strategies.

Originality/value

This is one of the first theoretical works toward establishment of an integrated perspective framework on IFCBS involving antecedent, mediating and dependent factors.

Using Data Sciences in Digital Marketing: Framework, methods, and performance metrics

In the last decade, the use of Data Sciences, which facilitate decision-making and extraction of actionable insights and knowledge from large datasets in the digital marketing environment, has remarkably increased. However, despite these advances, relevant evidence on the measures to improve the management of Data Sciences in digital marketing remains scarce. To bridge this gap in the literature, the present study aims to review (i) methods of analysis, (ii) uses, and (iii) performance metrics based on Data Sciences as used in digital marketing techniques and strategies. To this end, a comprehensive literature review of major scientific contributions made so far in this research area is undertaken. The results present a holistic overview of the main applications of Data Sciences to digital marketing and generate insights related to the creation of innovative Data Mining and knowledge discovery techniques. Important theoretical implications are discussed, and a list of topics is offered for further research in this field. The review concludes with formulating recommendations on the development of digital marketing strategies for businesses, marketers, and non-technical researchers and with an outline of directions of further research on innovative Data Mining and knowledge discovery applications.

A Hungarian and Ukrainian Competitors’ Network: A Spatial Network Analysis Perspective

In this paper, the spatial dimensions of a transboundary, coopetitive (coopetition: cooperation of rivals) network, established by restaurant owners, are scrutinized empirically by applying advanced toolkits of spatial network analysis (SpNA). The paper emphasizes that the coopetitive network has geographical extensions, and on the other hand, interactions between vertices generate network space. The new type of economic network could thus be analyzed by SpNA to understand the spatial characteristics of a rivals’ network at transboundary level. The paper may be referred to as cutting-edge research, because on one hand, it dissects a new type of economic network (coopetitive networks) and on the other hand, a new method is utilized (SpNA) to study the geographical parameters of inter-firm relationships. This approach emerges as a novel method. As a result, the paper provides significant, fruitful and new findings in both network science and urban economics as well. By employing metrics of SpNA, the main spatial traits of the coopetitive network can be mapped, such as the circumference, spatial structure, diameter, spatial density, spatial small world phenomenon, and global connectivity of the network. The results show that the coopetitive network possesses hub-and spoke spatial framework, in which the hub is localized far from the cluster of players. Moreover, the coopetitive interaction does not require face-to-face nexus, because the focal firm communicates with them via IT devices. The coopetitive activities contribute significantly to the urban economic growth. The main agent (the hub) ought to be supported by the regional development policy at the local and inter-urban geographical scale as well.