Coopetition in a failed merger project: why two French companies called it quits

Purpose Coopetition includes cooperation and competition, sometimes simultaneously, among firms from a specific industry involved in a merger and acquisition (M&A) operation. However, despite their high number, most mergers end in failure. Therefore, looking at how firms cooperate and compete when planning a merger operation can be a key to better understand post-merger integration, set achievable synergies for both parties and better understand the organizational culture of both companies. Also, external events in a rapidly changing environment can affect the global strategy of organizations and impact the desire for firms to engage in mergers and acquisitions. Design/methodology/approach The author investigates how merger negotiations were conducted and influence coopetition among two firms engaged in such an operation. The author describes the project merger of two French companies using longitudinal data. Findings This in-depth case study provides new insights into coopetition dynamics during merger negotiations and the influence of a global crisis on the overall strategy of two firms. The authors specifically detail how cooperation and competition were present in M&A negotiations and how the rapidly changing environment influenced the planned operation. First, cooperation was privileged as companies enhanced information sharing and communication for their joint strategy. Then, with the evolution of the environment, new opportunities were given to the target company, which decided to quit the merger project. Therefore, both firms engaged in a competitive context as the crisis helped the target company (in difficulty at the beginning of negotiations) to develop new projects and to become a real rival of the acquiring company in its local ecosystem. Research limitations/implications The limitations are those concerning a single case study. Practical implications The study highlights the complexity of merger negotiations and the unexpected events faced by integration stakeholders. The analysis, thus, contributes to an inclusive and integrative view of the challenges in the merger process. The study questions coopetition issues in regional clusters as both firms operate in the same industry in the same region. For practitioners, the study questions how to balance the risks and rewards of coopetition activities over time. The case addresses information sharing in coopetition projects and the fear that the data and information revealed during negotiations will affect the company’s competitive advantage once the merger plan is abandoned. In the context of the rapidly changing environmental crisis, managers will reflect on continuing to cooperate with their competitors or pursuing their activities on their own. Social implications Despite their high number, M&A failures remain surprisingly high. This study explores how stakeholders deal with merger negotiations and how external events impact such negotiations and merger projects by raising coopetitive tensions among firms. Originality/value The case provides a vivid illustration of firms’ adaptation to a rapidly evolving context due to a global crisis. The research questions coopetition in business ecosystems and the unexpected in merger processes. The study addresses critical risks in knowledge exchange during merger negotiations and coopetitive dynamics among stakeholders over time. Theoretical concepts and empirical findings from the literature are combined to present a single consistent picture.

Cooperation and Competition in the Innovation Ecosystem From the Perspective of Evolutionary Psychology

The innovation ecosystem is distinct from innovation itself; the former is based on technology, talent and markets, as well as many other elements of innovation that form the organisational system. Current research on the innovation ecosystem has primarily focused on theoretical discussions of the concept and analysis of evolution mechanisms and influential factors; however, research on mechanisms that influence cooperation and competition within the system is limited. Corporation and competition are the critical elements in the acquisition value of the innovation ecosystem and the realisation of innovation breakthroughs. Given the dynamic nature and complexity of the innovation ecosystem, this research is based on the “value co-creation” theory of innovation ecosystems and consistency with the “reciprocity” principle of evolutionary psychology. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie corporation and competition in the innovation ecosystem from the perspective of evolutionary psychology may foster more efficient cooperation and competition among enterprises, enabling them to realise the value of co-creation and innovation breakthroughs.

The Less Selfish Gene

Why have millions of readers and viewers become magnetized by the hitherto arcane field of plant communication? The article argues that the contemporary appeal of plant communication is rooted in a quest for alternative modes of being to neoliberalism, modes more accommodating of the coexistence of cooperation and competition in human and more-than-human communities. This ascendant understanding of plant communication and forest dynamics offers a counternarrative of flourishing, a model of what George Monbiot has called, in another context, “private sufficiency and public wealth.”

Neural Implementation of Bayesian mechanisms underlying the continous trade-off between cooperation and competition

Social interactions are not all or nothing. In some moments we are highly competitive, in others we are very cooperative, but sometimes we are somewhere in between and we constantly adjust our social orientation over time. Such a continuous spectrum of social approaches depends on both the actions favoured by the social environment and those of conspecifics. However, research examining strategic social interactions typically uses binary choices and therefore cannot consider how people shift their behaviour along a cooperation-competition continuum. Here, we use a novel economic game – the Space Dilemma – in which two players make a choice of a spatial location to indicate their degree of cooperativeness on each trial. Participants played the game across different social environments allowing us to compare their behaviour and neural responses in cooperative and competitive contexts. Using computational modelling and fMRI we show that social environments, social biases and inferences about others’ intentions shape people’s decisions about their degree of cooperativeness, in a manner consistent with a Bayesian learning model. We show that sub-regions of the brain previously linked to social cognition, including the Temporo-Parietal Junction (TPJ), dorso-medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) and the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACCg), signalled features of the Bayesian model. This included context independent surprise signals in the TPJ, context dependent signals in ACCg and dmPFC when monitoring others’ changes in competitiveness, as well as signals guiding shifts along the cooperation-competition continuum in posterior dMPFC. These results highlight how the social environment, one’s own and others’ social preferences all contribute to guide the continuous trade-off between cooperation and competition.

Does independent goal interdependence impair dynamic capability? The mediating role of supplier integration and the moderating role of internal integration

PurposeRapidly changing technological and marketing environments challenge the survival of business organizations. Developing dynamic capability is critical in helping companies respond to today's turbulent environments. Thus, fruitful studies on the antecedents of dynamic capability have been conducted. However, in the context of the supply chain, little is known about the factors that can be harmful to dynamic capability. Drawing on the theory of cooperation and competition, the first purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between independent goal interdependence with suppliers and dynamic capability by focusing on the mediating role of supplier integration. Combining the information processing theory and transaction cost economics with the theory of cooperation and competition, the second purpose of this study is to discuss and test the moderating role of internal integration.Design/methodology/approachUsing a carefully designed questionnaire, a large-scale survey was employed to collect data in China. The senior manager (e.g. president, vice president, chief executive officer [CEO], executive or purchasing manager) of each company was asked to participate in our survey. The final valid sample in our survey consisted of 233 companies. Hierarchical multiple regression statistical analysis and bias-corrected bootstrapping methods were applied to test the correlation, mediation, moderation and moderated mediation relationships between variables.FindingsThe authors found that independent goal interdependence negatively influences dynamic capability through frustrating supplier integration. In addition, the moderated mediation model analysis shows that internal integration weakens the positive direct effect of supplier integration on dynamic capability while neutralizing the negative indirect effect of independent goal interdependence on dynamic capability. The theoretical and managerial implications of these results are discussed.Originality/valueFirst, starting from the goal interdependence and supply chain management perspectives, this research not only is consistent with remote theoretical research that explains why interdependence among organizations influences the capability to enhance competitive advantage but also incorporates relevant internal and external factors that influence dynamic capability. Second, by proposing an innovative boundary factor – internal integration – this study also contributes to adjusting the predictions of the theory of cooperation and competition. Third, focusing specifically on the negative antecedent of dynamic capability can provide a better understanding of the antecedents that cause companies to have weakened dynamic capability.

Cooperation and competition among subsidiaries in a business group: their impacts on innovation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to document the relationship between intra-group coopetition and subsidiaries' innovation performance and the moderating impact of the intensity of external competition.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 75 subsidiaries in China through a questionnaire survey of their R&D and general managers. The total number of individual respondents was 205. We tested our hypothesis by using ordinary least squares regression.FindingsIntra-group cooperation was found to promote a subsidiary's performance in product and process innovation. Intra-group competition was found to have a U-shaped relationship with product and process innovation. Intra-group cooperation strengthens the U-shaped relationship between intra-group competition and process innovation.Research limitations/implicationsThis study involved firms from more than one industry. Studies of specific industries might reach more specific conclusions. And all of the data were self-reported by the managers of the firms concerned. Future studies would be well-advised to consider more objective data describing pairs of parent firms and subsidiaries.Practical implicationsSubsidiaries ought to build their internal networks to cooperate with each other. That can bring significant advantages in terms of information and synergy in innovation. Subsidiaries are also suggested to take full advantage of the opportunities that intra-group competition brings.Originality/valueThis study is the first one to explore coopetition phenomenon in the context of business group. By taking Chinese business group subsidiaries as the research samples, this research not only extends the coopetition research but also reveals that cooperation and competition are co-existed and exert influence in subsidiaries.