Intra-Organisational Knowledge Flows: A Coopetition Perspective On Post-Acquisition And -Merger Activities

The increasing number of publications focusing on the concept of coopetition stands in contrast to competition research, by attempting to address and understand the interplay between cooperative and competitive interactions. This emergent research stream has benefited from numerous theoretical, less often empirical studies, attempting to describe the cooperation/competition balance at various levels of analysis: The individual, organisational, inter-organisational and network levels. Yet, research at the firm level is still scarce, and no study has specifically explored the coopetition phenomenon in post-acquisition settings. This chapter aims to address this issue, by discussing the coopetition dynamics that emerge among units and firms that belong to the same organisation. The original value of this study lies in the development, review and assessment of a new framework, which combines cooperative and competitive forces within organisations, while offering new grounds for theoretical developments around the concept of coopetition. Coopetitive relationships influence organisational structures, policies, as well as coordination processes between the partner firms. Finally, the research proposes theoretical as well as operational implications for the management of intra-organisational interactions in late integration phases. These are reviewed as to the strategic decisions that are required for the management of intellectual assets and of corporate risk-adjustment schemes.