Birthe Soppe

Vertical Coopetition and the Sales Growth of Young and Small Firms

Vertical coopetition describes a situation where a firm has a vertical exchange relationship with a direct competitor. Drawing on resource‐based perspectives and resource dependence theory, we examine specific characteristics of vertical coopetition that affect the sales growth of young and small firms. We propose that the size of the competitor and mutual dependence as well as overdependence among the cooperating rivals affect the growth potential of young and small firms differently. Our research makes a contribution to the literature by disentangling some of the benefits and threats related to vertical coopetition for young and small firms.

Vertical coopetition in entrepreneurial firms: theory and practice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate vertical interfirm relationships with direct competitors – also referred to as vertical “coopetition” – in entrepreneurial firms. Specifically, this study explores the reasons for why entrepreneurial firms engage in vertical coopetition and how they manage this particular type of interfirm relationship. The paper also shed light on the causes for termination of such delicate relational arrangements. Design/methodology/approach – The research design is exploratory. The paper analyze data collected by a survey that was specifically designed for this study. Based on the findings, the paper developed theoretical propositions specifying the conditions under which entrepreneurial firms engage in coopetition, how it is managed, and how it can be sustained. Findings – The findings show that coopetition is a ubiquitous phenomenon for entrepreneurial firms, and mainly arises out of a deliberate strategy. In contrast to large firms, entrepreneurial firms tend to ...

Go Pro Bono: Prosocial Language as a Success Factor in Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding enables fundraising of various ventures by collecting money from several donors. We argue that the inclusion of prosocial language contributes to success in this new domain of resource acquisition. In Study 1, we analyzed 164,056 projects from the online crowdfunding platform Kickstarter and found that the higher the percentage of prosocial words employed in a project’s description, the larger the number of investors and the greater the chances of reaching a funding goal. In Study 2 (N = 234), an experimental study, we documented that the use of prosocial words increases the support people thought they would give to a project. Our results indicate that people want to invest their financial resources in ventures that contribute to prosocial goals.

Boundaries and New Organization Forms

This article is a revision of the previous edition article by W.W. Powell, volume 2, pp. 1295–1298,

Go Pro Bono

Crowdfunding enables fundraising of various ventures by collecting money from several donors. We argue that the inclusion of prosocial language contributes to success in this new domain of resource acquisition. In Study 1, we analyzed 164,056 projects from the online crowdfunding platform Kickstarter and found that the higher the percentage of prosocial words employed in a project’s description, the larger the number of investors and the greater the chances of reaching a funding goal. In Study 2 (N = 234), an experimental study, we documented that the use of prosocial words increases the support people thought they would give to a project. Our results indicate that people want to invest their financial resources in ventures that contribute to prosocial goals.

Let the Games Begin: Institutional Complexity and the Design of New Products

Abstract nThis study explores how organizations deal with divergent institutional logics when designing new products. Specifically, we investigate how organizations approach and embody institutional complexity in their product design. Through a multimodal study of serious games, we identify two design strategies, the proximity and the amplification strategies, which organizations employ to balance multiple institutional logics and design novel products that meet competing institutional expectations. Our study makes an important theoretical contribution by showing how institutional complexity can be a source of innovation. We also make a methodological contribution by developing a new, multimodal research design that allows for the in-depth study of organizational artifacts. Altogether, we complement our understanding of how institutional complexity is substantiated in organizational artifacts and highlight the role that multimodality plays in analyzing such situations.

Legitimacy Under Institutional Change: How incumbents appropriate clean rhetoric for dirty technologies:

How organizations legitimate their actions under conditions of institutional change is a central yet little understood question. To address this gap, this paper investigates how incumbent firms legitimate investments in both novel and conventional technologies during periods of institutional and technological transition. We examine the rhetorical strategies that energy incumbents employ to gain legitimacy for their investments in renewable (legitimacy-gaining or novel) and non-renewable (legitimacy-losing or conventional) technologies. Employing a mixed-method content analysis of 483 press releases on strategic energy investments, published by the world’s largest energy firms during the time period 2010 to 2015, we find that incumbents utilize two different types of hybrid rhetoric to justify their investments. For investments in non-renewables, incumbents use pragmatic blending, appropriating the clean rhetoric traditionally associated with challenger technologies and combining it with justifications highlighting performance-oriented outcomes. The rhetoric used for investments in renewables involves visionary blending, combining rhetoric related to corporate strategy with sustainability rhetoric. We furthermore argue that these hybrid rhetorical strategies are observed when the legitimacy trajectories of two technologies intersect. Our study contributes to the research on rhetorical institutionalism, incumbents’ role during institutional change, and technology legitimacy.

CRU, GLUE, and Status: How Wine Labels Helped Ennoble Bordeaux

Abstract nWe analyze how institutional persistence unfolds. Building on an historical analysis of 3,307 bottle labels in the Bordeaux wine community, France, between 1924 and 2005, we find that the persistence of a chateau tradition requires considerable effort at maintenance. Instead of greater compression and taken-for-grantedness, we propose that expansion along multimodal carriers provides a marker of a deepening institutionalization. We underscore the role of community organizations in enabling a wine tradition to persist. The implications of our findings for institutional theory and multimodality research are discussed.

Legitimacy under institutional change: How incumbents borrow clean rhetoric for dirty technologies

How organizations legitimate their actions under conditions of institutional change is a central yet little understood question. To address this gap, this paper investigates how incumbent firms leg...