Managing Coopetitive R&D and Innovation: A Project-Level Perspective

Abstract

High technological convergence, shorter product lifecycles and rising research and development (R&D) costs have increased R&D and innovation collaboration between competitors in mature manufacturing industries. Scholars have argued that sharing knowledge and complementary resources can help competitors reduce costs and risks, stimulate innovation, enter new markets and develop new products. Collaboration between competitors, however, poses a high risk of technology imitation, knowledge leaks and weakened market position. Furthermore, research often downplays the role of other partners in many coopetitive R&D collaborations, although the presence of research institutions, suppliers or customers may simultaneously enhance benefits and increase the complexity and challenges of managing coopetition. Therefore, while the number of established R&D and innovation collaborations between competitors in mature manufacturing industries has grown, many such efforts fail, so more knowledge about managing their complex interactions is of both academic and practical relevance. Most previous research on coopetition for R&D and innovation examines emerging industries, and scholars have tended to study science- and market-based R&D and innovation collaborations separately. This dissertation seeks to reveal how coopetitive R&D and innovation projects in mature manufacturing industries can be managed. Using a qualitative research design and an embedded case study of six coopetitive R&D projects that also include non-competitive partners, three qualitative papers were produced. The empirical data consist of 48 interviews with high- and middle-level managers from competing companies, project managers, cluster managers and employees from universities and research centres involved in the sampled projects. The findings demonstrate how customers and research partners mitigate coopetitive risks and enhance the willingness of competing companies to accept the invitation to join coopetitive R&D and innovation projects in mature industries. They also identify the specific role of business clusters in enabling collaboration in the pre-project phase and research partners in balancing coopetition during the pre-project and project implementation phases. Finally, this dissertation highlights the intensity of intra- and inter-organisational tensions in the pre-project and implementation phases, respectively, and explains successful management using paradox theory. By going past the competitor-to-competitor dyad and the focal-actor perspective, this dissertation contributes to coopetition, innovation and R&D research and provides insights for practitioners seeking to establish and manage coopetitive R&D and innovation projects in mature manufacturing industries.