Coopetition-based business models: The case of Amazon.com

Coopetition (collaboration between competing firms) is a phenomenon that has recently captured a great deal of attention due to its increasing relevance to business practice. However, current research on coopetition is still short on explaining how the potential advantages of coopetition can be realized over time as part of an individual firm's business model. In order to gain insights into this, we conduct a longitudinal, in-depth case study on the coopetition-based business models of Amazon.com. We find evidence of three distinct coopetition-based business models: (1) Amazon Marketplace, (2) Amazon Services and Web Services, and (3) the collaboration between Apple and Amazon on digital text platforms. We conclude by forwarding several propositions on how value can be created and captured by involving competitors in a firm's business model. As a whole, the results contribute to the current understanding of how firms - as well as their stakeholders - can better benefit from coopetition. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.