Abstract
We investigate how does a focal firm strategize and manage coopetition through the specific lens of knowledge sharing. Based on two case studies of two firms considered as masters in the management of coopetition, we identify three ways to create and pursue the focal firm’s current and future advantage in coopetitive project. The two first ways confirm the dominant research approach of coopetition which argues that a focal firm should obstruct or reduce to its strict minimum the coopetitor’s potential for internalizing the knowledge shared for the project success (i.e. reduce or restrict the focal firm’s knowledge transparency). Indeed, the value creation of a coopetitive project success can be jeopardized by the fear of knowledge sharing between competitors. The reduction or restriction of its knowledge transparency is a key organizational solution to overcome this fear of knowledge sharing and thus this fear of collaborating with a competitor. Alternatively, we identified a third way of strategizing and managing coopetition which goes one step further in coopetition. Indeed, by building on our empirical results, Deutsch’s theory of conflict resolution and Nonaka’s organizational knowledge creation theory, we argue that the creation and pursuit of current and future advantage for a focal firm in coopetitive project can also consist in implementing a strategy and management based on greater and freer transparency. In that case, the dominant coopetitive knowledge sharing adages of “protecting” or even “sharing and protecting” shift into “sharing and enabling for constructive capturing.” This third way opens academic research opportunities based our boarder theoretical roots than Hamel’s approach of inter-firm relationships in which the strategic intent is a learning race and one of the key organizational element is a minimized transparency. It also has managerial contributions. Indeed, it increases top management analytical capability by generating a new counter-intuitive insight: enabling a competitor in a coopetitive project can be strategic tool to create and pursue current and future advantage for themselves. Moreover, our integrated framework can be reused to train the analytical coopetitive capabilities of top managers by making them aware about three ways of strategizing and managing coopetition.