Coopetitive Tensions within Business Groups

Abstract

Tensions play a key role in coopetitive relationships between subsidiaries and the parent company. Yet, research has devoted little attention to the individual perspective on tensions in such relationships. To study business groups’ view on tensions, a useful starting point is the structural power of the parent company, but this also requires an investigation of managers’ behaviour. This chapter shows research results on this issue on a sample of business groups listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. The study finds that managers admit to having abilities to manage coopetition and balance conflicts. They also present a higher attitude/willingness to cooperate in coopetition relations. Substantive tensions in the relations of coopetition in business groups are pointed out much more often than (inter)personal ones. With these insights, the chapter contributes to the business group coopetition literature by providing a better understanding of managers’ experiences with tensions. It also extends the view on tensions in the literature by showing that the perception of tensions might determine tensions management behaviour in coopetition.