Incorporating coopetition into the entrepreneurial marketing literature

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to extend the entrepreneurial marketing literature to account for coopetition (the interplay between cooperation and competition). This paper is also designed to highlight the research gaps surrounding coopetition, so that academics, working at the marketing/entrepreneurship interface, can undertake more investigations linked with this topic. Design/methodology/approach The entrepreneurial marketing literature was reviewed to develop a conceptual framework, guided by three research propositions, examining the antecedents and consequences of coopetition, as well as the boundaries of the coopetition–organisational performance relationship. Findings Coopetition activities are driven by an organisation-wide coopetition-oriented mindset – the degree to which managers and employees believe in the importance of cooperating with competitors. Also, coopetition can help entrepreneurs access new resources and capabilities from their competitors; however, “too much” coopetition can lead to tensions between such rival firms. Additionally, it is proposed that the relationship between coopetition activities and organisational performance is moderated by competitive intensity (a facet of the competitive business environment). That is, with higher levels of competitive intensity, entrepreneurs are less likely to improve their performance from coopetition activities. That is, the competitive business environment can affect the delicate balance between the forces of cooperativeness and competitiveness. Originality/value Entrepreneurial marketing research has concentrated on individualistic perspectives concerning how entrepreneurs operate their businesses. In this viewpoint, the competitive assumptions of the marketing/entrepreneurship interface are extended to account for coopetition. This paper also outlines the areas within the coopetition literature that entrepreneurial marketing scholars should appreciate. Specifically, entrepreneurial marketing scholars are recommended to examine the antecedents and consequences of coopetition, coupled with the moderating role of competitive intensity (a facet of the competitive business environment) in the coopetition–organisational performance relationship. This paper ends with a recommended methodology for academics to test the conceptual framework in future empirical research.

Developing and validating a multi-dimensional measure of coopetition

“…Each OLS multiple regression model controlled for firm size, firm age and competitive intensity. Regarding firm size, larger organisations, with a greater volume of resources and capabilities, might be more likely to engage in coopetition, given that they possess increased assets to share with competing firms (Bengtsson and Kock, 1999; Luo et al , 2006; Gnyawali and Charleton, 2018; Crick, 2019b). Firm size was measured by summating the number of members (instructors and students) in the sporting clubs (a new measure).…”

“…The limited body of research focusing on the antecedents of coopetition has considered issues, such as firm-level or industry-level mind-sets surrounding managers believing that collaborating with competitors is a performance-driving competitive business strategy (Gnyawali and Park, 2011;Crick, 2018a;Mathias et al, 2018). This body of literature has uncovered that if companies possess coopetition-oriented corporate cultures (or organisation-wide mind-sets), managers (and functional-level employees) will engage in coopetition-oriented behaviours, like resource and capability-sharing activities (Crick, 2019b). Also, coopetition activities could be facilitated when management teams have access to their competitors' resources and capabilities (Geldes et al, 2015).…”

“…As previously alluded to, competing firms typically share resources and capabilities to improve their performance in ways that would not be possible if firms were to operate an individualistic business model (Bengtsson and Johansson, 2014;Ritala et al, 2014;Velu, 2016). No matter how much firms collaborate with their competitors, competitive forces always underpin such behavioural forms of coopetition to varying degrees (Arslan, 2018;Crick, 2019b). Crick and Crick (2016) focused on how firms can collaborate with their competitors across different geographic-level and organisation-level proximities.…”

“…The marketing/entrepreneurship interface links the forces of market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation to assist the owner-managers of businesses to improve their market performance (Matsuno et al , 2002). Coopetition is linked with the entrepreneurial marketing literature, as it involves companies taking bold steps (proactive), creative activities (innovative) and making potentially risky decisions (risk-taking), involving the interplay between cooperation and competition, which could yield improvements in organisational performance, such as sales (Crick, 2019b). By collaborating with competitors, businesses might be able to strengthen their customer value provision by using rivals’ resources and capabilities to be well equipped to satisfy their customers’ wants and needs (Rindfleisch and Moorman, 2003).…”

Entrepreneurial marketing: a bibliometric analysis of the second decade of the 21st century and future agenda

“…Market orientation refers to a set of behaviors at the company level such as the company's responsiveness, creation and development activities for new products, when correctly managed and applied it will improve performance (Crick, 2019a). Regardless of the environmental context, market orientation is a relevant factor in terms of business performance (Morrish, 2011;Crick, 2019b).…”