Coopetition for sustainability: Between organizational benefit and societal good

Abstract

Sustainable development requires coopetition, that is, the cooperation of organizations that compete at the same time. Research on coopetition for sustainability is sparse. From a sustainability perspective, coopetition contributes to sustainability when it makes a positive contribution on the societal level. Existing research on coopetition however focuses on organizational outcomes. In this paper, we link organizational and societal outcomes of coopetition. We show that for the simple case of two coopting firms and an economic and an environmental dimension, there are 51 different combinations that make a positive contribution to sustainability. All but one of these combinations consist of a mix of positive and negative outcomes. We identify four types of trade‐offs that can occur in coopetition for sustainability and that point to different pathways of achieving sustainability.

An environmental perspective extends market orientation: Green innovation sustainability

“…Stakeholder theory provides a theoretical mechanism to extend the concept of MO to GMO by arguing that the organization should have goals beyond just financial performance. This concept suggests that a firm should shift from doing whatever it takes to make money, to a more balance approach whereby firms consider the numerous ways by which a decision may avoid harm to the environment (Manzhynski & Figge, 2020). The core stakeholders considered in this study are competitors, customers, and employees (Papagiannakis, Voudouris, Lioukas, & Kassinis, 2019).…”

For green or not for green? The effect of cooperation goals and type on environmental performance

“…Although cooperation with clients (consumers, retailers, or downstream manufacturers) is useful for applying a lifecycle approach and ensuring the recyclability of products (Darnall, Henriques, & Sadorsky, 2010; Handfield, Walton, Seegers, & Melnyk, 1997; Thun & Müller, 2010), cooperation with firms in other industries may be needed to introduce more complex forms of environmental innovation, be it in the form of products, processes, or organizational green innovations (Triguero, Moreno‐Mondéjar, & Davia, 2013; Wagner, 2007). Additionally, cooperating with companies that are competitors on other occasions (competitive strategy) can increase companies' environmental performance because it generates the most efficient use of natural resources (Manzhynski & Figge, 2020).…”

Modelo de simbiosis para el turismo en La Macarena, Colombia. Impacto de la paz en Caño Cristales

“…El desarrollo sostenible requiere coopetición (Manzhynski & Figge, 2019), pero para que funcione, deben existir mecanismos sólidos de confianza, además de una estructura muy clara de reglas, normas y sanciones para aquellos que no la cumplen ayudan a mantener la estructura cooperativa, en general; así como en la naturaleza, se demuestra que es más eficiente estar dentro del entorno competitivo que estar por fuera como castigo por no haber entendido el proceso. Otra de las características que se emula con la naturaleza, es que tanto más personas entren en el modelo simbiótico más personas querrán estar en él, por las ventajas intrínsecas que tiene; y, por otro lado, es posible heredar los puestos de antecesores que fueron competitivos y que permiten seguir con negocios familiares sostenibles en el tiempo.…”