Value Creation Tension in Coopetition: Virtuous Cycles and Vicious Cycles

Intent to create value is the raison d'être for participation in coopetition, but the complexities and challenges of value creation are poorly understood relative to other areas of the coopetition literature. Our essay highlights how simultaneous efforts to pursue firm value creation and joint value creation leads to challenges and unique tension in coopetition. We develop the concept of 'value creation tension' to explain how efforts towards firm value creation in coopetition can undermine joint value creation and vice versa. We also demonstrate how such tension manifests in challenges faced by managers, in terms of cognition, behavior, and emotion. Drawing from the paradox literature, we suggest that attempts to resolve, manage, or manipulate tension may reinforce the positives, leading to virtuous cycles, or negatives, leading to vicious cycles. Our essay offers foundations for addressing a critical but currently underexplored tension in coopetition; offering avenues for future research within and beyond the coopetition literature.