Internal Coopetition as a Driver for Organizational Learning : An empirical explorative study on internal coopetition and tensions in a high-tech firm

Abstract:

Coopetition, the joint occurrence of competition and cooperation between two actors on more than one activity is an emerging topic of research. As Bengtsson and Kock (2014) mentioned, there is an exponential increase in published papers that tackle the problems and opportunities surrounding coopetition. Coopetition as a phenomenon has received an increased attention since Raymond Noorda, CEO and founder of Novell, first introduced the concept in the 1980s (Luo, 2007). Though, not only has the academic realm seen an increase, the business world has moved towards a more cooperative identity in relation to their competitors. Where partnerships used to be looked upon as second best solution (Beamish, 1988), it is now changing rapidly with the increase of joint ventures and other forms of partnerships (Pastor & Sandonis, 2002, p. 245). This empirically explorative study uses data extracted from an established Asian high-technology company. With 61 respondents ranging from regular employees to top management, correlation and regression analyses have been conducted to draw conclusions about the role of internal coopetition for learning within organizations based upon the previously mentioned variables. In conclusion, parts of the inter-organizational theory on coopetition can be adapted and used in an intra-organizational framework. Though more importantly, it is proven that in order to increase organizational learning from within the company, the coopetition intensity should be maintained on high levels.