Value Chain Configuration and Coopetition

Coopetition — the simultaneous collaboration and competition be- tween firms — has recently risen to become a major subfield in the strategic management domain. Actually, a subfield labeled “coope- tition strategy” has begun to emerge and take shape. This essay reflects how the findings in the coopetition strategy literature align with some of the classic questions in strategic management and discusses the contributions of the six papers published in the SMR Special Issue on Coopetition Strategy. In the context of coopetition strategy, we reflect on (1) how firms gain competitive advantage and improve their performance, (2) how firms create and capture value, (3) the optimal boundaries (and overlaps) between firms, and, last but not least, (4) how firms make strategic decisions. We hope that this essay and the special issue as a whole may generate even greater momentum to consolidate, theorize, and position coopeti- tion strategy within the broader strategic management literature.