Chapter 7: Coopetition as a Superior Form of Knowledge Integration in Alliances

Environmental uncertainty in today’s markets and rapidly changing technologies demand quick responses, which are more easily achieved by establishing strategic alliances than by operating in isolation. The term coopetition refers to simultaneous cooperative and competitive behavior, and a common form of coopetition is knowledge sharing among competitors. In this chapter, we argue that alliances with competitors in which the main aim is joint knowledge integration are more effective mechanisms than alliances in which one partner only aims to acquire knowledge; we also claim that, under certain circumstances, these alliances are superior mechanisms for knowledge integration, compared to organizations operating alone. Managers should consider this kind of interorganizational agreement with competitors as an alternative option and an opportunity to integrate knowledge more quickly than they would do in isolation. The originality of the present contribution lies in showing that the objective in the coopetition must be for partners to create jointly, and in differentiating this type of cooperation from one in which the aim is to absorb knowledge from one of the partners. We present this kind of coopetition as a new strategic option that managers should evaluate, and this is the first attempt to discuss and differentiate the two types of alliance in a coopetition environment.