Antecedents of the Scope of International Co-opetitive Relationships

This study examines the drivers behind the international scope of firms’ co-opetitive relationships. Responses from 4624 firms that partook in the fourth nation-wide Community Innovation Survey in Sweden provide empirical basis for investigation. Approaching firms’ involvement in coopetitive arrangements as a two-step process reveals that innovative firms are more likely to be involved in at least one coopetitive relationship, although operational marketing innovativeness had no effect on the likelihood of cooperating with competitors. However, only dynamic capability, conceptualized as firm’s ability to reinvent its internally and externally oriented practices, was a significant determinant of the breadth of international coopetitive relationships. These findings further advance the notion of coopetition, cooperation with competitors, in the international context and contribute to the literatures on international relationship marketing and networking.