Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal incorporating Journal of Global Competitiveness

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conceptually develop the understanding of co-opetition dynamics and to enhance the conceptual clarity of co-opetition by developing a definition based on previous research efforts.

Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper integrates various approaches to the concept co-opetition into a definition that holds for co-opetitive interactions across multiple levels. Different co-opetitive interactions and the resulting dynamics are discussed by drawing upon competition and cooperation theories. The paper concludes with an agenda for further research on co-opetition dynamics.

Findings – The paper outlines how different types of co-opetitive interactions result in archetypical situations where the dynamics of co-opetition are present as well as where the dynamics of co-opetition are missing due to a lack of balance between cooperation and competition. It notes four co-opetitive forces: over-embedding, distancing, confronting, and colluding. These four forces drive development towards situations without dynamics.

Originality/value – This paper provides a conceptual understanding of co-opetition dynamics and will reveal that in order to adequately account for co-opetition dynamics, a definition of co-opetition must analytically separate the cooperative and the competitive interaction inherent in co-opetition.