International entrepreneurship, inter-firm collaboration and export capability development

This chapter reports on an investigation into the role of inter-firm collaboration with rivals (also known as ‘coopetition’) as a potential transformative mechanism to help facilitate export capability development. Specifically, developing capabilities via collaborative rather than individualistic practices in respect of decision-makers’ product-market strategies. Underpinned by a capabilities perspective of resource-based theory, it reports on data from interviews with owner-managers of 27 smaller-sized, under-resourced New Zealand wine producers, together with secondary data (where possible). These wine producers were all engaged in exporting rather than other modes of market entry, but varied in terms of intensities and scope of activities. New insights evidence the importance of well-managed collaborative activities with appropriate (trustworthy and complementary) rivals to avoid ‘dark-side’/opportunistic practices. This helps transform certain ‘operational’ capabilities into at least ‘threshold’ if not ‘dynamic’ capabilities. However, capabilities regarding pivot and/or exit strategies are also important where win/win benefits among partners no longer exist.