Levels, phases and themes of coopetition: A systematic literature review and research agenda

Abstract

There is increasing interest among management scholars in “coopetition”, which is simultaneous cooperation and competition between at least two actors. The research interest in coopetition has grown remarkably in the past few years on a variety of levels of analysis, including the intra-firm level, the inter-firm level, and the network level. However, this research has emerged along tracks that are often disconnected, and involves different terminologies, theoretical lenses, and topics. Accordingly, scholars have called for consolidation and synthesis that makes it possible to develop a coherent understanding of the coopetition concept and that reconciles its inherent heterogeneity. In this study, the authors address this issue by means of a systematic literature review that gathers, analyzes, and synthesizes coopetition research. Current knowledge on coopetition is consolidated and presented across multiple levels of analysis along a phase model of coopetition. On the basis of this in-depth review, the authors synthesize a conceptual map that highlights five multilevel research areas: (1) the nature of the relationship, (2) governance and management, (3) the output of the relationship, (4) actor characteristics, and (5) environmental characteristics. The major research themes are identified for each of these areas, enabling the authors to suggest future research avenues.