To join or not to join? Insights from coopetitive RD&I projects
Multipartner research, development and innovation (RD&I) projects are increasingly used to achieve complex innovation goals and keep pace with today's technological imperatives. The involvement of both competing and noncompeting partners increases the complexity of the relationships and poses a challenge to the outcomes of such projects. Therefore, the right choice of partners is particularly important in this context. Although previous research has mainly examined how focal firms deliberately select collaborative partners, this study demonstrates how non-focal firms evaluate invitations to participate in RD&I projects with multiple partners and direct competitors. Going beyond …
Coopetitive tensions across project phases: A paradox perspective
Coopetition is a paradoxical phenomenon that encapsulates the dynamic interplay between cooperation and competition. Management of tensions, inherent in coopetitive relationships, is a success factor for this type of collaboration. Previous research has extensively examined management of tensions in the implementation phase of coopetitive innovation projects but has paid little attention to the dynamics of these tensions across different project phases. This gap is disconcerting since the innovation management literature recognizes the fuzziness and uncertainty of the pre-project phase as critical to the continuity of an innovation project. We argue that differences between project phases a…