Maria Bengtsson

Cooperation and competition in relationships between competitors in business networks

Traditionally the relationships between competitors in the industrial market have been based on competition. The network approach and literature about strategic alliances have provided new insights into cooperation between firms based on the value chain. The empirical findings from two in‐depth studies, the rack and pinion industry and the lining industry, show that a firm can be involved in four different types of horizontal relationships at the same time. Apart from relationships consisting of competition or cooperation, a firm can live in symbiosis by coexisting with other relationships, or being involved in a relationship simultaneously containing elements of both cooperation and competition. Consequently, a successful firm needs to focus on relationship management in order to achieve a portfolio consisting of the four types of relationships to other horizontal firms.

Co-opetition dynamics : an outline for further inquiry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conceptually develop the understanding of co-opetitiondynamics and to enhance the conceptual clarity of co-opetition by developing a definition based onpre ...

Integrating the Internet and Marketing Operations A Study of Antecedents in Firms of Different Size

Adopting the Internet for advanced marketing operations opens up challenging opportunities for firms of all sizes. However, such adoption might destroy investments in present market channels and thus has the characteristics of radical innovation. In this article, we draw on the literature on innovation to investigate what differentiates adopters of advanced Internet-based marketing operations from non-adopters in firms of different sizes. The conceptual model for this study is centred on the set of internal and external factors size, willingness to cannibalize, entrepreneurial drivers, management support, and market pressure. Our analysis is built on survey data from 379 Swedish manufacturing firms. The results of analysis show that composition of factors on which firms base their decision to adopt advanced Internet-based marketing operations varies signifi cantly with fi rm size. A number of implications for further research as well as for managers and educators are discussed.

Managing coopetition to create opportunities for small firms

This article investigates how coopetition enables small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to create entrepreneurial opportunities in fast-paced industries. We explore the managerial challenges SMEs face when collaborating with large powerful competitors, and examine how they balance this relationship to create and sustain business opportunities through coopetition. Based on three exploratory case studies in the information technology and telecoms industry, the article develops a theoretical model suggesting that SMEs can manage the liabilities of smallness and newness, and sustain independence in and balance coopetitive relationships with large firms if they develop alliance portfolio managing capabilities. We find that the ability to build legitimacy, enhance agility and create role flexibility plays an important role in balancing and navigating among different coopetitive relationships, thereby creating and sustaining opportunities.

A Grammar of Organizing

Contents: 1. The Need for a New Grammar of Organizing 2. The Orientation of Activities in Time and Space 3. The Challenges of Coordination 4. Influence - Taking a Political Stand on Organizing 5. Identity Construction - Mixing Cultural Diversity and Integration in Organizing 6. Agreements - Acknowledging the Social Processes of Organizing 7. The Activity-Community Model of Organizing 8. Four Challenges of Organizing References Index

Tension in Co-Opetition

This paper presents the results of a study dealing with tension in co-opetition. Co-opetition refers to a situation where competitors simultaneously co-operate and compete with each other. Individuals within the two interacting firms have to simultaneously play different and conflicting roles or act in accordance with different logics of interaction (c.f. Bengtsson & Kock 1999). Tension is most assumable inherent in such a relationship, and the purpose for this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for analysing this tension.

Brand equity, satisfaction, and switching costs: An examination of effects in the business-to-business setting.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of satisfaction and switching costs on the development of brand equity in the business-to-business setting. Structural equation modeling was ...

Clashes between contending market regimes: a challenge for firms in converging industries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework that describe three contending market regimes in converging industries, and to use this framework to study clashes between t ...

The importance of competition and cooperation for the exploration of innovation opportunities

The importance of competition and cooperation for the exploration of innovation opportunities

Cause I’ll Feel Good!: An Investigation into the Effects of Anticipated Emotions and Personal Moral Norms on Consumer Pro-Environmental Behavior

ABSTRACT Anticipated emotions and moral norms have previously been found to influence consumer adoption of pro-environmental products in different ways. However norms and emotions have seldom been combined in order to understand their relations in motivating consumers to adopt sustainable products. Despite the environmental benefits of sustainable products, consumer adoption is slow to take off. Utilizing data from an online survey (N = 576), this study finds that anticipated emotions directly influence consumer adoption and the effect of moral norms is mediated by the anticipated emotions. This study extends the norm activation model and implies communicating positive emotions for promoting sustainable products.