Download full programme and abstract book pdf 1.6

are expressed from various directions in the room, it gives the
impression that many different actors oppose the suggestion.
”Playing with the agenda”, illustrates for instance how firms
with few delegates try to influence the agenda to enable them
to participate in all relevant discussions. A third set of tactics,
”Discursive play”, is used to legitimate suggestions, and
to reach or block a decision. E.g., technological arguments
and system dependencies are used to defend or condemn
suggestions and to delay the discussion: Some delegates argued
at several occasions that they needed to check technological
aspects suggested in a session and that the decision must be
postponed. Overall, the findings show how attendants use
the arguments of the common good to simultaneously pursue
the interest of their organizations; the hidden agenda of coopetition.
04:03
Cooperation and competition – examples from Iceland
Hannibalsson, Ingjaldur 1 ; Steinthorsson, Runolfur Smari 2
1 University of Iceland, School of Business, Reykjavik, Iceland;
2 University of Iceland, School of Business, Reykjavík, Iceland
In Iceland there are many examples of cooperation between
competitors. What could be the explanation? Too what extent
can the frequency of this phenomenon in Iceland be explained
by the limitation of resources and lack of skills. To what
extent can this coopetition be seen as a result af the small
population or the remoteness of the country. Is the coexistence
of cooperation and competition higher in economies that are
less developed or more advanced? Is this phenomenon more
frequent in countries with more mature cluster activities than
less? This paper deals with this questions based on following
examples. One of the examples discussed in the paper is
Icelandic Shipping. The history of shipping in Iceland spans
100 years. Hf. Eimskipafelag Islands (Eimskip) was established
in 1914. In the shipping history there are many examples of
both competition and cooperation, not least in maintaining
services between Iceland and USA. Eimskip became the
stronghold in the industry and had many bitter fights with the
competitors, but has also at the same time been a cooperator
Another example is from the financial sector that for most of
the time in Iceland has been relatively small. During the sixties
computerization of banking services had started in Europe. The
Icelandic banks were too small to computerize individually.
In order to take part in this new development it was decided
that a central computer center for all the banks was the only
solution. This computer center was also to act as a clearing
house for payments made by check speeding up all transactions
involving checks. The third example is from the fishing industry
as Iceland’s most valuable resource is the fishing ground around
the country. The fishing sector developed in small fishing
villages located around the country. Each company was small
and had limited resources. As a consequence most of the fish
processing firms established a joint company that was to take
care of product development and marketing in foreign markets.
For centuries Iceland has also had many sheep and the farms
were small and isolated. Later small knitting and sewing
factories were built all around the country. To process the wool
into yarns is a relatively capital intensive and one company
did produce all the yarns which was used in the country. That
company which was also a major exporter always knew which
colors it’s competitors were going to use when their product
development started.
04:04
Coping with tensions in coopetition
Tidström, Annika
Department of Management and Organization, University of
Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland
Coopetition, or the simultaneous existence of cooperation and
competition, has recently gained increasing attention among
scholars within strategic management (e.g. Rusko, 2010; Yami
et al., 2010) and business network research (e.g. Tidström,
2006). However, coopetition is still a new field of research and
at present we are only at the start of its investigation (Padula
and Dagnino, 2007). Traditionally research within the business
network approach has been focused on cooperation, and
therefore there is a need for more studies including competition
(e.g. Cunningham, 2008).
Coopetition consists of a continuous tension between
cooperation and competition. In order for coopetition to be
beneficial, it is important to cope with this tension. Although
a few scholars within coopetition have elaborated on tensions
(e.g. Bengtsson & Kock, 2003), there are scarce studies
focusing on how to cope with it.
The purpose of this study is to increase our understanding
about how to cope with tensions in cooperation between
competitors. Focus lies on types of tensions, the method or
style of coping and outcome of coping as well as how all these
are interrelated.
The empirical part of the study is based on various studies of
intercompetitor cooperation. Personal interviews have been
used as a research method and the findings have been derived
through content analysis.
The findings of the study show that there are two general
methods of coping with tensions: a) coping prior to the
occurrence of a tension in order to avoid it and b) coping as the
tension is perceived. Moreover it is possible to identify types of
tensions, methods and outcomes of coping on several different
levels: network, relationship, organizational, operational and
individual levels.
The contribution of the study is twofold. From an academic
perspective the findings contribute to research about interorganizational
coopetition and more particularly how to
cope with tensions related to the simultaneous existence of
cooperation and competition. From a managerial perspective
the findings of the study indicate different methods and
outcomes of coping with coopetition.
04:05
Development and change of cooperative interactions and coopetition
strategies among competitors – Exploring change
processes underlying a gradual development of the coopetition
process
Nisuls, Johanna
Hanken School of Economics, Department of Management and
Organisation, Vasa, Finland
The overall aim of this paper is to explore the establishment
and development of inter-competitor cooperation and coopetition
strategies from an experiential learning perspective.
In order to reach this purpose the paper sets focus first at
approaching current conceptualizations and empirical evidence
of how and why the content of the co-opetitive relations, in
terms of the strength and the interdependence cooperative and
competitive interactions, unfolds over time. This discussion is
developed from the arguments by Van de Ven (1992: 172) on
the need to explore the underlying activity or stage sequences to
grasp organizational development and change and the strategy
formation process. More specifically, current conceptualizations
are explored in the background of the life-cycle-, evolutionary-,
dialectical- and teleological-oriented characteristics of the
73