The role of intrafirm coopetition in knowledge creation and innovation process

Abstract

Coopetition (simultaneous competition and cooperation) has mainly been researched in the inter-firm context. However, there is only a scant literature addressing coopetition in intra-firm context and actually no studies linking coopetition to the knowledge creation process for innovation. Hence, the main question of our study is: what role does intrafirm coopetition play in the different phases of the knowledge creation process in innovation? To answer this question, we suggest a framework and a process model which describes the role competition and cooperation, and furthermore illustrates where these contradictory tensions are connected by unique logic of coopetition in the knowledge creation process for innovations.