An Asymmetric Perspective on Coopetitive Strategies

Situations of "co-opetition" may well become the dominant logic of many industrial sectors. Their common feature is a strategy that obstructs independent and discretionary innovation by forcing companies to share the exploitation and / or exploration of critical assets with competing firms. These new co-opetitive dynamics raise the question of adapting innovation strategies of small and medium firms that can enable them to maintain their place in the co-opetitive game, without losing their individual capacity for innovation. It also raises the issue of formulating innovation strategies that can integrate the co-opetitive component as a strategic advantage, rather than enduring its puzzling architecture. This article proposes to explore two original processes of innovation, which attempt to respond, in their different ways, to the transformation of firms' environments into co-opetitive arenas.