ArticlePDF Available

Maximizing cooperation in a competitive environment

Authors:

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to delineate the conditions and governance structures that facilitate cooperation among firms, which are by default competitors. The theoretical lenses of resource dependence theory, institutional theory, and transaction cost theory are employed to show how organizations can coordinate to achieve the optimum level of cooperation along two dimensions, uncertainty and technology. An alternative paradigm of competitive inter-dependencies is presented, based on the classical notion that organizations by nature are cooperative systems with harmonious interdependence among subsystems. This paper aims to contribute to the competitiveness literature by showing that mutual gains from collaborative advantage are not only possible in assuming infinite possibilities for creating value, but necessary for long-term organizational survival.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Maximizing Cooperation in a Competitive Environment
Dai, Li
Competition Forum; 2008; 6, 1; ABI/INFORM Collection
pg. 63
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
... In addition, industry structure and growth level ( Chen, 2014;), as well as uncertainty and instability in the industry ( Ritala, 2012) drive firms to pursue coopetition. Dai (2008) argues that the rapid erosion of competitive advantage, as well as the reduction of barriers to entry, reduce firms' control over their destinies, forcing them to join competing firms to create more security. Further, coopetitive relationships are developed to respond to challenges in industries that are characterized by blurred structures ( Parzy & Bogucka, 2014). ...
... Sahaym, Steensma, & Schilling, 2007), drives multiple firms toward coopetition ( Bengtsson & Johansson, 2014;Feldmann, 2002). Moreover, coopetitive relationships are formed to meet the challenges of brief product life cycles ( ), rising R&D costs and risks ( Lei, 2003), technological uncertainty ( Bouncken & Kraus, 2013;Dai, 2008), technological complexity ( Dai, 2008;), and intensities in technological change and maturity ( Afuah, 2000;Afuah, 2004;Burgers et al., 1998;M'Chirgui, 2005a). Such technological demands are so complex that one firm alone cannot meet the related challenges and therefore they look for a coopetitive firm. ...
... Sahaym, Steensma, & Schilling, 2007), drives multiple firms toward coopetition ( Bengtsson & Johansson, 2014;Feldmann, 2002). Moreover, coopetitive relationships are formed to meet the challenges of brief product life cycles ( ), rising R&D costs and risks ( Lei, 2003), technological uncertainty ( Bouncken & Kraus, 2013;Dai, 2008), technological complexity ( Dai, 2008;), and intensities in technological change and maturity ( Afuah, 2000;Afuah, 2004;Burgers et al., 1998;M'Chirgui, 2005a). Such technological demands are so complex that one firm alone cannot meet the related challenges and therefore they look for a coopetitive firm. ...
... External drivers relate to environmental conditions that either induce or force firms to participate in a competitive environment (Bengtsson & Raza-Ullah, 2016). These can be industrial characteristics which relate to the specifics of the industry such as structure, growth, saturation, erosion of competitive advantage (Chen, 2014;Dai, 2008)). Further technological demands related to enhancing technological research and development capacity, technological change, technological innovation (Bengtsson & Raza-Ullah, 2016;Gnyawali & Park, 2009). ...
Article
Full-text available
The Romanian economy has prospered in the last years, and as a result, economic players claim today the scarcity of skilled workforce in the country. Many reasons have been mentioned for this: a dysfunctional labour market, saturated economic regions, demographic decline, migration, not adequately skilled workers. Therefore, it is crucial activating participation at an early stage to grow future skilled workforce as insufficiency of skilled human resources can limit economic growth. Talent management and talent pool growth have been concentrated on star talent acquisition and the development of new in -house talent processes. Rather slow has been the advance in generating new talent pools from an inter-firm cooperative approach. This work will make an initial approach to close this gap in research by studying the creation of talent pools through coopetition in the private sector as mean to an end to growing workforce supply. The concept is studied based on a case study that focuses on two private Vocational Education Training programs of two industries in Romania namely retail and manufacturing. The study shows that new talent pools can be grown through a coopetitive environment given harsh environments and limited resource capabilities of the firms.
... The imbalanced power and dependence relationships between the clubs and their resource providers, as well as the rivalry among locals may have heightened the tendency of club administrators to use normative approaches to manage environmental uncertainty. The use of informal, "friendly linkages" that exist among individuals in the "basketball community" might be explained by Dai (2008) who suggests that intense competition is predicated on the pooling of resources which, in turn, necessitate collaboration among organizations. This "dialectical tension between competition and cooperation" may be achieved under certain conditions (Dai, 2008, p. 63). ...
Article
Full-text available
The Canadian Sport Policy advocates for increased interaction among sport organizations as a means to create a more efficient and effective system. The purpose of this study was to explore the existence and nature of linkages among a network of community basketball providers. Network theory focuses on the interconnections of organizations by considering the structural, social, and economic bonds of cooperative behavior. Quantitative data were collected via a questionnaire and analyzed using network software UCINET 6 to assess the numbers and types of linkages among a network of community basketball organizations (n = 10) in one geographical region. Next, in-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with leaders from the organizations and from their provincial/national governing bodies (n = 11) to assess the barriers to linkages among these organizations. Results indicated a loosely coupled network, wherein issues of power and dependence, uncertainty, and the lack of managerial structures to initiate and manage linkages prevailed.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.