2013 European Academy of Management (EURAM) Conference
"Democratizing Management"
June 26-29, 2013, Galatasaray University, Istanbul, Turkey
SIG Strategic Management
Track: Corporate strategy: managing and governing alliances, M&As and
divestitures
Sub-track Coopetition Strategies: exploring new borders
Organizers: Wojciech Czakon (University of Katowice, Poland), Giovanni
Battista Dagnino (University of Catania, Italy), Anne Sophie
Fernandez, Frédéric Le Roy, Saïd Yami (University of Montpellier,
France)
This EURAM sub-track aims to explore thoroughly and systematically the
borders of coopetition. The exploration of coopetition borders
essentially raises three key issues: (a) theoretical; (b)
epistemological and methodological; and (c) functional. These issues
are exploded hereafter. We invite researchers, scholars and
practitioners to submit contributions that fall under this topic and
its possible variations. However, the topical list remains indicative
since all projects dealing with coopetition are, at least in
principle, pretty welcome.
Coopetition strategies: new theoretical borders
Coopetition has been defined as a paradoxical relation bringing
together cooperation and competition, which is in opposition with the
traditional binary Aristotelian conception that has long dominated
the world of modern science. Notwithstanding that, coopetition
strategy is turning into a strategic option that is unfeasible to
circumvent in most frontier industries, such as high-tech and global
industries. Actually all firms are concerned with coopetition,
whatever their size. Large groups as much as SMEs are increasingly
involved in this type of strategic and dynamic interactions. Public
organizations, such as health establishments and universities or
research centres, are also driven to engage in some kind of
coopetitive dynamics.
The investigation of the borders of coopetition field raises the
question of its theoretical frameworks. Three frameworks have
heretofore been typically mobilized by scholars as research
foundations of coopetition: game theory, RBV, and network analysis.
Nalebuff & Brandenburger?s (1996) value network theory cohabits with
Gnyawali & Park?s (2009) coopetition networks? analysis, and Lado et
al.?s (1997) theory of syncretism with Bengtsson & Kock?s (1999, 2000)
theory of coopetition paradox, and so on Is the current theoretical
pluralism a viable provision or it would be better to carry out
efforts for conceptual integration? Since actual coopetition theory is
still not fully developed, it certainly calls for refinements.
A second theoretical effort may lay in wondering in what (new)
directions coopetition theory should and could develop. Should we stay
with the current theoretical frameworks and refine them or should
we seek to add new conceptual perspectives? For instance, should
paradox theory and/or complexity theory be involved in theorizing
coopetition? In the same way, could knowledge or information theories
become the foundation of coopetition? And, if yes, how? The links
with dynamic capabilities theory could also be put into question.
Perhaps, it would be useful to explore the connections between
coopetition and related disciplinary fields such as law, political
sciences and international affairs and business history.
Coopetition strategies: new epistemological and methodological borders
Research on coopetition raises also epistemological questions which
have been insufficiently explored in received research. It seems
necessary, like Chen (2008) did, to question the philosophical bases
of coopetition theory. Is coopetition carrying a new philosophy in the
business world? Is this new philosophy a revolution needed for
Western management modes?
The discovery and incorporation of new methodological issues seem also
useful for explaining and understanding coopetition strategies
better. Pioneering coopetition works were primarily founded on the
qualitative analysis of case studies. Progressively, with the
development of the research body in the field, case studies have been
supplemented by quantitative studies, on the basis of
questionnaires or secondary data collection. The application of new
methods is a relevant frontier that we can consider today. For
example, it would be possible to undertake coopetition research by
using experimental methods. These methods would probably allow a
better understanding of some individual and collective processes in
coopetitive dynamics. In the same way, coopetitive experimentation
and testing may be the foundation of research on coopetition.
Lastly, a very exiting perspective is the exploitation of
neuroscience methods to identify cognitive processes that occur in
manifold coopetitive conditions.
Coopetition strategies: new functional borders
Extant research on coopetition has tended to adopt a global approach
to the study of firms, without necessarily digging deeper into
methodological rigour and managerial implications. Time has possibly
come to eventually explore systematically coopetitive antecedents,
processes and outcomes of the different firm functions and operations
in practice.
Intriguing themes:
- Coopetitive strategic choice
- Coopetitive management and leadership
- Coopetitive marketing
- Coopetitive information systems
- Coopetitive production and logistics
- Coopetitive accounting
- Coopetitive management control
- Coopetitive finance
The issue of coopetition is, in our view, a subject mater which bears
high managerial relevance and impact. For this reason, it has
recently drawn considerable attention from both the shores of
management literature and practice. Providing it with theoretical
grounds or, at least, comparatively testing available theories in
heterogeneous empirical settings is viewed as a major challenge.
Rent seeking behaviour seems promising, as it provides explanations
for the rationale of simultaneous competitive and cooperative
behaviours, for unilateral rent seeking and collective action, as
well as for adaptive actions. Indeed coopetition has brought new
life and lymph to three important concepts, which had long been
absent in strategy research or had been regarded apart: (1) value
maximization in interorganizational contexts; (2) rent appropriation
as a simultaneous concern along with rent seeking; and (3) emergent
adaptation to changing strategic and operational circumstances. Given
the thorough intellectual challenge coopetition brings today to
researchers?, scholars? and practitioners? agendas, and its
significant managerial relevance and impact, the call for conducting
further research in this vein holds the promise and hope of gathering
increasing audiences and developing relevant contributions in the
management arena and beyond.
Past Venues
We have organized a Coopetition track at the EURAM 2007 Conference
held in Paris and another Coopetition Track at the EURAM 2002
Conference in Stockholm. Furthermore, we have convened a Coopetition
track for the IFSAM 2010 conference held in Paris.
In addition, we can confirm that the Coopetition strategy community
has a truly extensive experience in organizing bi-annual workshops
under the label of the European Institute for Advanced Studies in
Management. The EIASM series on coopetition is a pretty successful one
of five consecutive biennial workshops that have started in 2004:
Catania (2004), Milan?s SDA Bocconi (2006), Madrid Carlos III (2008),
Montpellier 1 (2010), Katowice (2012). The sixth venue will take
place at the University of Umea, Sweden in September 2014. Other
coopetition venues convened include the Professional Development
Workshop at the Academy of Management, Chicago 2009, two topical
panels in the 2010 30th Anniversary Strategic Management Society
Conference in Rome, plus a semi-plenary session (showcase symposium)
in the 2011 Strategic Management Society International Conference in
Miami.
ORGANIZERS
Wojciech Czakon
Professor at the Faculty of Management
University of Economics in Katowice, Poland
wojciech.czakon@ue.katowice.pl
Tel: +48-32-257-73-02
Giovanni Battista Dagnino
Professor in the Department of Economics and Business
University of Catania, Italy
dagnino@unict.it
Tel: +39-095-7537-622
Anne Sophie Fernandez
Associate Professor at the University of Montpellier 1, France
anne-sophie.fernandez@univ-montp1.fr
Tel: +33(0)4-34-43-21-02
Frédéric Le Roy
Professor at the University of Montpellier 1 (ISEM) and
GSCM - Montpellier Business School, France
frederic.le_roy@univ-montp1.fr
Tel: +33(0)4-34-43-21-14
Saïd Yami
Associate Professor at the University of Montpellier 1 and
Professor at Euromed Management, Marseille, France
said.yami@univ-montp1.fr
Tel: +04-34-43-20-98
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