Learning in coopetition: Alliance orientation, network size, and firm types

Coopetition can provide access to competitors' valuable knowledge. However, coopetition has high opportunism risks; therefore, firms aim to protect their own knowledge against leakage and prevent coopetitors' leveraging their knowledge. This study examines how the firm's alliance orientation and its network size influence the leveraging of knowledge (inlearning) gained from a coopetitor. A survey of 366 firms in the medical device industry shows that firms achieve inlearning from a coopetitor only through both a high alliance orientation and a greater number of alliance partners. The study reveals two firm types according to how firms achieve inlearning using coopetition. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.