The 3PL Provider as Catalyst of Coopetitive Strategies-An Exploratory Study

Abstract

The subject of coopetitive strategies has been studied increasingly since the end of the 1990s in the academic literature on strategic management, offering an in-depth renewal of the way of looking at the evolution of exchange relations between firms and emphasizing that neither pure cooperation nor pure competition are satisfying explanatory models of the reality of business. In fact, cooperation and competition blend to give rise to a novel model of value creation: coopetition. This article makes use of this conceptual framework to study the role of third party logistics (3PL) providers in the operation of modern supply chains. 3PL providers appear to be the catalysts of coopetitive strategies, particularly when they manage modular platforms. An exploratory field study conducted in France has identified three 3PL archetypes in the dynamics of coopetitive supply chains: 3PL providers as caretakers, 3PL providers as lead operators, and 3PL providers as architects.