Coopetition between small businesses : a matter of proximity[Coopetición entre pequeñas empresas : una cuestión de proximidad]

Coopetition is a strategy that brings performance and potential risks to firms. This is also true for small business. Indeed, on the one hand, past researches show that small business can highly benefit from coopetition. On the other hand, coopetition carries tensions and conflicts destructing value. Consequently, coopetition in small business has to be efficiently managed to perform well. Past researches has focused on methods of intern management of coopetition in small business but not on inter-organizational devices. In so doing, we develop a theoretical framework based on the Proximity Law, in which four elements are essential: small businesses in coopetition form a community separated from the rest of competitors by a wall phenomenon; small businesses in coopetition develop a high sense of belonging to the community ; there is a hierarchization of the members inside the coopetitive network ; the wall of the coopetitive community is not totally hermetic because there are entry and exit doors. The relevance of this theoretical framework is evaluated by studying small businesses in the real estate brokerage industry in France. This research shows the relevance of coopetition strategies in small business and that the four main characteristics of coopetition in small business are present.