Purpose This paper addresses a problem within the existing body of knowledge pertinent to business-to-business (B2B) settings, concerning the contrasting prior findings in respect of the relationship between coopetition (collaboration with competitors) and firm performance. Specifically, the purpose is to address a research gap regarding the current limited understanding of mediating factors that are likely to explain contrasting earlier findings in the coopetition-firm performance relationship. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual approach synthesises mixed prior empirical findings primarily from the B2B marketing literature but also draws on wider strategy research. A testable framework is proposed in which coopetition exhibits an inverted-U shape relationship with firm performance. Furthermore, this relationship is mediated by three salient firm-level capabilities, namely, organisational ambidexterity, organisational learning and organisational tensions management. Findings While the relationship between coopetition and firm performance has been widely examined in the B2B marketing and strategy domains, prior research has produced inconsistent results, ranging from positive to negative effects, alongside a non-linear association. In this paper, a non-linear (inverted U-shaped) relationship is conceptualised, whereby firms may experience reduced performance from engaging in either “too little” and “too much” coopetition. In addition, the framework proposes three mediators, namely, organisational ambidexterity, organisational learning and organisational tensions management, that offer novel insights concerning how coopetition is likely to be translated into different performance outcomes. Originality/value Underpinned by the resource-based view and relational view, unique insights arise that address a problem concerning the contrasting prior findings regarding the relationship between coopetition and firm performance. The paper extends current literature beyond contextual moderators that have been previously investigated, by conceptualising organisational ambidexterity, organisational learning and organisational tensions management as mediating capabilities. In doing so, the paper provides a clearer explanation of how coopetition is likely to shape firm performance through internal capability mechanisms.

Purpose Market-oriented behaviours (MOBs) have been widely studied in domestic and international settings. However, it is unclear how smaller-sized exporters can manage MOBs to enhance their sales performance. That is, under-resourced firms might be constrained by their size, meaning that they require other forms of assistance from key stakeholder groups (e.g. competitors) to boost their export sales performance when implementing export MOBs. Accordingly, guided by the wider aspects of resource-based theory, the purpose of this study is to delve deeper into the relationship between export MOBs and export sales performance under different degrees of export coopetition (collaboration with competitors). Design/methodology/approach The research team collected and analysed survey responses from 118 smaller-sized exporters within the New Zealand wine industry. Such statistical data passed all major robustness checks (i.e. for reliability, different forms of validity and common method variance). In addition to the core model-testing stage, several post-hoc tests were conducted to further examine the statistical findings. Findings As expected, export MOBs had a positive and significant relationship with export sales performance. Yet, a surprising result was that export coopetition activities negatively and significantly moderated this link (a two-way interaction effect). The subsequent post-hoc tests revealed a variety of interesting nuances pertaining to how export MOBs and export coopetition activities can positively and negatively influence export sales performance. Originality/value This study offers unique insights regarding the circumstances where export coopetition activities assist (and do not assist) under-resourced businesses to amplify the performance-enhancing benefits of export MOBs. New evidence demonstrates that while export MOBs can help smaller-sized exporters to thrive within their markets, coopetition (formally and/or informally) can negatively impact export sales performance when implemented in tandem with MOBs. Hence, this investigation identifies some of the dark sides of international forms of coopetition.

Purpose This instrumental case study aims to understand the role of cluster-based coopetition (collaboration with competitors) practices as a performance-enhancing resource-leveraging strategy in a highly regulated sector targeting a vulnerable population. The research setting features a regional cluster within the aged residential care (ARC) sector in New Zealand, namely, where rival organisations’ decision-makers identify and exploit opportunities associated with a vulnerable population. This investigation addresses a problem, since earlier broader-based coopetition research has provided mixed findings in respect of the performance-enhancing nature of this form of resource-leveraging behaviour, as part of owner-managers’ entrepreneurial marketing activities. Design/methodology/approach This investigation is underpinned by an institutional theoretical lens, and findings primarily arise from interviews with decision-makers of 14 smaller-sized ARC facilities in a single regional cluster. In addition, use was made of secondary data like via websites including references to institutional audits. Data collection followed a snowball sampling approach and ended when a point of theoretical saturation was reached. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, then manually coded, plus attempts were used to ensure the trustworthiness of the data was robust. Findings The findings outline certain ‘rules of the game’ for owner-managers in an ARC organisational field where demand outstrips supply. Institutional conditions impact decision-makers’ resource-leveraging practices, namely, to enable them to provide highly regulated care for a vulnerable population given their limited assets. The findings highlight the role of co-existing logics affecting facets of decision-makers’ coopetition activities regarding the provision of ARC. These co-existing logics refer to a need to enhance owner-managers’ respective facility’s performance, alongside that of rivals via coopetition, namely, for mutually beneficial outcomes. Originality/value In contrast to some earlier cluster-based studies in less regulated sectors (and those where demand does not outstrip supply), this investigation offers fresh insights highlighting the importance of co-existing logics that guide under-resourced decision-makers’ performance-enhancing coopetition practices. In addition, new light is shone on potential dark-side implications arising from owner-managers’ resource-leveraging activities in an institutional context involving caring for vulnerable residents within an ageing population.

This study investigates how owner-managers of wine producers that participate in coopetition relationships (cooperation with competitors) can effectively implement collaborative marketing practices with their cluster-based rivals to facilitate regional sales as a specific place-related strategy. Data collection featured interviews with owner-managers of smaller-sized, independent, family-owned, wine producers in New Zealand, alongside secondary data. Contributions are offered first, by profiling firms via a 2 x 2matrix, regarding decision-makers' capabilities associated with gaining either a high/low recognition of types of customers' knowledge and purchase intentions, also, by exhibiting a high/low competitor orientation. Second, unique insights emerge concerning the capability to be strategically flexible in response to environmental conditions. Third, new evidence indicates that capabilities vary, but some are of a lower-order 'threshold' rather than higher-order 'dynamic' nature.

Earlier work has indicated that communal wine consumption events (e.g. wine tourism) are driven through employing a market orientation, namely, the firm-wide implementation of the marketing concept. Although market-oriented activities are intended to create value for customers, many vineyards and wineries are small and lack the resources and capabilities that are needed to achieve these outcomes. Consequently, there could be merits in owner-managers employing a collaborative (rather than individualistic) business model to overcome their limited tangible and intangible assets. In practice, this could be undertaken via cooperating with their competitors (coopetition) to help them to host or participate in communal wine consumption events. Therefore, grounded in resource-based theory, this current investigation reviews the literature surrounding these issues (focusing on the wine industry) to develop a conceptual framework examining the relationship between market-oriented activities and communal wine consumption events under the moderating role of coopetition. This provides the wider alcohol-focused community of scholars with new evidence on how a market orientation can be enhanced by wine producers collaborating with rival businesses to create positive experiences for their chosen customer segments. This includes drawing upon ‘best practices’ from several wine-producing nations about how decision-makers can navigate these organisation-wide activities.

Purpose This study explores the influence of informal “psychological contracts” (PCs), (as opposed to formal contractual relationships) on exporter–distributor relationships. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from a sample of 127 exporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand. The authors employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for analyzing the measurement and structural models. Findings Psychological contract fulfillment (PCF) enhances affective commitment and calculative commitment. Moreover, affective and calculative commitments mediate the relationship between PCF and export venture performance (EVP). The authors also find that institutional distance (ID) weakens the relationship between PCF and both affective and calculative commitment. Additionally, ID moderates the strength of the mediating mechanism for affective commitment; thus, the authors present a moderated-mediation model. Originality/value To date, international relationship marketing (IRM) literature has focused on PC breach, and business-to-business (B2B) marketing literature has focused on the effects of PCs on affective/relational commitment. This study offers novel insights by demonstrating the positive indirect effect of PCF on EVP via the mediating variables – affective and calculative commitment. The authors' findings also present a conditioning role of ID on the micro-level relationships of PCs.

PurposeA question remains unresolved in existing cross-disciplinary research at the marketing/entrepreneurship interface (MEI). This features circumstances when employing a combination of market-oriented and entrepreneurially-oriented activities, known as entrepreneurial marketing (EM) behavior, is likely to lead to positive performance outcomes. Earlier mixed findings provide the need to unpack the nuances of EM practices, in terms of their boundary conditions, regarding circumstances where this behavior does or does not lead to performance-enhancing outcomes. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to examine the complexities of the association between EM activities and small firm performance by assessing quadratic and moderating effects.Design/methodology/approachThis study was underpinned by resource-based theory (RBT). Survey responses were collected from 214 smaller-sized companies in the United Kingdom. The statistical data passed all major checks for reliability, different forms of validity, common method variance and endogeneity bias.FindingsEM activities had a quadratic connection with small firm performance, with this relationship being enhanced (in terms of a positive two-way interaction effect) by market dynamism (a counter-intuitive result regarding environmental conditions). Surprisingly, through a post-hoc test, coopetition (cooperation among competitors to leverage assets and overcome resource constraints) did not play any influential part in helping owner-managers to overcome the potential downsides of EM practices, like the time and cost implications of identifying and exploiting opportunities (i.e., a non-significant three-way interaction effect).Originality/valueUnique insights outline how decision-makers in smaller-sized organizations can harness the potential benefits, and minimise the likely drawbacks, of employing EM activities. However, owner-managers should be cautious when implementing these organization-wide practices, since they are likely to enhance performance, but only up to a fixed point. Indeed, excessive forms of EM activities can weaken small firms’ performance. A counter-intuitive positive moderation effect regarding market dynamism challenges certain earlier findings. Specifically, in some dynamic market conditions, EM activities could be performance-enhancing, since certain environmental-level forces might assist owner-managers to amplify the merits of behavior at the MEI when implemented effectively.

Regional-level coopetition (collaboration among competitors in rural communities) has been linked to company performance. That said, there could be conditions (moderators) that help or hinder these networks from fulfilling such outcomes. This investigation examines the nature of the relationship between regional-level coopetition and company performance under key moderating effects. A resource-based theoretical lens is utilized to underpin the study. Following field interviews to shape the operationalizations and survey instructions, a quantitative study was undertaken in the Canadian wine industry to test the elements of the conceptual framework. The findings revealed that while regional-level coopetition drives company performance, regional-level rivalry negatively impacts this association. Surprisingly, industry experience intensified the potential dark-sides of these activities. As such, improved evidence has emerged on how coopetition strategies can be implemented in rural communities through the underlying mechanisms that can assist decision-makers of small enterprises to enhance their performance. Additionally, stronger insights are offered regarding a relational, stakeholder perspective of resource-based theory, in terms of how decision-makers may need to work with complementary and trustworthy rivals that can assist them to increase their company performance in competitively intensive environmental-level conditions.

PurposeThe objective of this instrumental case study is to investigate issues impacting capability development/transformation with respect to student entrepreneurs' aspirations to create a viable, evolving business model for their start-ups, namely, that are underpinned by goals featuring the "triple bottom line". That is, instead of simply profits as an economic performance metric, there is also a consideration of wider social issues within the notion of "responsible leadership", involving people and the planet.Design/methodology/approachUnderpinned by a "capabilities lens", the research setting focuses on the perceptions of student entrepreneurs together with other stakeholders in a Canadian university. The country context is pertinent, since to gain scalability, owners of start-up firms may need to internationalise to overcome limited domestic demand (despite the large geographic area); also, stakeholders' support is sometimes needed to facilitate growth.FindingsNew insights demonstrate the need for appropriate stakeholders to facilitate effective transformative capability development amongst student entrepreneurs with triple bottom line objectives. Student entrepreneurs' capability of validating facets of a viable evolving business model that address "all" and not "some" aspects of the triple bottom line is especially important. This is alongside the capability of being able to pivot product-market strategies where necessary, and this may feature the need to internationalise in the event there is limited domestic demand. A capability to develop soft skills is also likely to help student entrepreneurs communicate with stakeholders. In turn, such capabilities are likely to help move ideation, passed validation and through to commercialisation.Originality/valueThe utility of institutions and associated stakeholders offering education and training support to develop capabilities amongst students as aspiring entrepreneurs has featured in earlier studies. Likewise, issues associated with the notion of sustainability have also been previously considered. The originality of this instrumental case study is to offer a more nuanced investigation into salient issues associated with capability development amongst student entrepreneurs exhibiting triple bottom line objectives in their start-ups. That is, focusing on considerations related to validating their evolving business models and especially when facing limited domestic market demand.

Purpose Although earlier research suggests a positive relationship exists between engaging in entrepreneurial marketing activities and firm performance, there may be contingent issues that impact the association. This investigation unpacks the relationship between entrepreneurial marketing behaviour and firm performance under the moderating role of coopetition, in an immediate post-COVID-19 period. Design/methodology/approach A resource-based theoretical lens, alongside an outside-in perspective, underpins this study. Following 20 field interviews, survey responses via an online survey were obtained from 306 small, passive exporting wine producers with a domestic market focus in the United States. The data passed all major robustness checks. Findings The statistical findings indicated that entrepreneurial marketing activities positively and significantly influenced firm performance, while coopetition provided a non-significant moderation effect. Field interviews suggested that entrepreneurs’ attemps to scale up from passive to more active export activities in an immediate post-pandemic period helped explain the findings. Owner-managers rejoined trustworthy and complementary pre-pandemic coopetition partners in the immediate aftermath of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for domestic market activities. In contrast, they had to minimise risks from dark-side/opportunistic behaviour when joining coopetition networks with partners while attempting to scale up export market activities. Originality/value Unique insights emerge to unpack the entrepreneurial marketing–performance relationship via the moderation effect of coopetition, namely, with the temporal setting of an immediate post-COVID-19 period. Firstly, new support arises regarding the likely performance-enhancing impact of owner-managers’ engagement in entrepreneurial marketing practices. Secondly, novel findings emerge in respect of the contrasting role of coopetition in both domestic and export market activities. Thirdly, new evidence arises in relation to a resource-based theoretical lens alongside an outside-in perspective, whereby, strategic flexibility in pivoting facets of a firm’s business model needs effective management following a crisis.

This instrumental case study's objective is to understand the target market strategies of technology oriented, service intensive, transnational entrepreneurs (TEs). Existing studies featuring the merits of ‘concentration versus spreading’ target market strategies provide mixed findings, typically involving firms with product oriented as opposed to service intensive business models. Furthermore, prior research focuses on export-oriented owner-managers as opposed to TEs who have capabilities associated with being socially embedded across different countries. Interview data features the practices of 15 TEs, whose businesses involved information and knowledge-based solutions. Specifically, first generation UK-based South Asian immigrant entrepreneurs who are socially embedded in both their country of origin and country of settlement. Unique insights contribute to a microfoundational cultural perspective of business-to-business (B2B) practices, regarding a new generation of TEs, being relatively highly educated, experienced, and technologically oriented. New evidence builds on dated prior studies often featuring lower skilled and less experienced immigrant entrepreneurs in low-tech, service-oriented sectors. The choice of TEs' target market strategy is not necessarily binary in nature, whereby the importance of decision-makers possessing the ability to pivot strategies is evidenced. To varying degrees, certain TEs employ an ambidextrous approach, concentrating on key markets and entering/exiting others perceived as peripheral.

Purpose - While coopetition (cooperation among competitors) has been widely researched in domestic settings, relatively less work has evaluated how small exporters engage in these business-to-business (B2B) marketing strategies. Therefore, export coopetition activities could have different performance outcomes (and boundary conditions) to these B2B marketing practices in domestic arenas. Consequently, underpinned by resource-based theory (and focusing on smaller-sized and internationalised, businesses), the purpose of this paper is to unpack the relationship between export coopetition activities and export sales performance by accounting for key quadratic and moderating effects. Design/methodology/approach - Survey responses were obtained from 107 small, and export-oriented, wine producers in South Africa. After refining the measurement scales, the quantitative data passed all major assessments of reliability, validity and common method variance. Subsequently, the elements of the conceptual model were tested through a hierarchical regression analysis. Moreover, a post-hoc test was undertaken to delve deeper into the nuances of the statistical results - and offer additional insights concerning how these B2B marketing strategies operate (and manifest) in export markets. Findings - A significant non-linear (inverted U-shaped) relationship was found between export coopetition activities and export sales performance. No support was found for the moderators, namely, export geographical scope, export intensity or the interaction between these forms of internationalisation. An interesting issue to emerge from the post-hoc test was that export geographical scope yielded a quadratic link with export sales performance, for which the export coopetition activities construct did not moderate this connection (a non-significant interaction effect). These findings offer new insights that help inform the concentration versus spreading debate related to target market strategies. Originality/value - New evidence emerges on the internationalisation of the coopetition construct, regarding how smaller-sized companies collaborate with their competitors within their export markets. Likewise, stronger insights arise concerning the dark sides of export coopetition activities via circumstances where they are harmful to internationalised firms. Moreover, improved claims are made about how resource-based theory serves as a useful tool to conceptualise the nuances of export coopetition activities and how they impact export sales performance. Collectively, this investigation not only responds to calls for research to evaluate coopetition in export markets but also embraces the complexities of these B2B marketing strategies.

This study unpacks the relationship between engaging in entrepreneurial marketing practices and firm performance under the moderating role of competitive intensity, in an immediate post-crisis (COVID-19) period. Following 20 field interviews, the model testing stage featured survey responses from owner-managers of 306 small, rural wine producers across multiple regions in the United States. Underpinned by a relational, stakeholder perspective of resource-based theory, alongside an outside-in lens, unique insights revealed that in aggregate terms, entrepreneurial marketing activities were positively and significantly associated with firm performance, while competitive intensity yielded a non-significant moderating effect. Importantly, a post-hoc test revealed that only certain dimensions of the multi-faceted entrepreneurial marketing construct were significantly associated with firm performance, whereby, competitive intensity played different moderating roles (exhibiting varying interaction effects). Implications arise for practitioners building resilience after an environmental shock, whereby, they are likely to need to pivot strategies while facing new degrees of competitive intensity.

Owner-managers of smaller-sized businesses often possess limited resources/capabilities affecting their ability to pursue opportunities. Earlier research supports the need to be market-oriented, but such practices can sometimes be time-consuming and expensive. Although owner-managers in the tourism/hospitality industry can estimate broad demand associated with seasonality, they nonetheless face a degree of uncertainty. In fact, they can typically never be sure how many customers will enter their respective businesses on any given day no matter how much they try to anticipate market trends; therefore, predictive decision-making is often ineffective. This study employs a quantitative research design, drawing on data from a survey of 184 smaller-sized firms within the tourism/hospitality industry in New Zealand. The findings contribute to the cross-disciplinary literature positioned at the strategic marketing/entrepreneurship interface. Specifically, unique insights utilising an effectuation lens, illustrate that if managed effectively, decision-makers’ non-predictive effectual logic facilitates market-oriented behaviour, which in turn, enhances firm performance.

Purpose Underpinned by a stakeholder-oriented resource-based theoretical lens, this inter-disciplinary study investigates the association between an entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance under different degrees of coopetition (cooperation among rival firms). Design/methodology/approach Alongside undertaking 20 semi-structured interviews, survey responses were obtained from 302 smaller-sized producers in the American wine industry. The elements of the conceptual model were evaluated via hierarchical regression. Moreover, all major robustness checks were assessed. Findings Positive and significant relationships respectively existed between an entrepreneurial orientation and coopetition with firm performance. However, a somewhat counter-intuitive finding involved the interaction between these two constructs negatively and significantly influencing firm performance. Originality/value Even though employing an entrepreneurial orientation has been long-since linked to facilitating improved firm performance, under-resourced owner-managers of certain smaller-sized enterprises may struggle to implement these activities. In principle, cooperating with competitors can enhance resources/capabilities and lead to mutually beneficial outcomes. Nevertheless, unique insights suggest that the potential exists for coopetition-based networking activities to have detrimental outcomes with respect to entrepreneurially orientated strategies. Consequently, decision-makers are advised to consider the merits of collaborating with their industry rivals, but also be aware of the potential “dark sides” surrounding these behaviours. Furthermore, improved knowledge emerges regarding the stakeholder themes of resource-based theory.

Underpinning this instrumental case study is an effectuation lens. It investigates how a firm's governance affects decision-making within international new ventures (INVs), which rapidly withdrew from markets abroad, regarding their re-internationalisation activities. Interviews with founding owners, exhibiting growth-oriented objectives, provide unique insights regarding a combination of effectuation and causation-oriented decision-making. In comparison to earlier studies that focus on the role and mind-set of the founding management team, findings suggest stakeholders like angel investors may exhibit an influence on certain INVs' internationalisation decisions. Some decision-makers view risks/rewards against objectives in subjective ways like 'loss of credibility' and the 'fear of missing out,' rather than simply economic terms like growth. New light is shed on the importance of decision-makers validating internationalised business models and exhibiting an ability to pivot product-market strategies. Non-linear international scale-up behaviour may include a temporary domestic market focus and potentially re-internationalising to different countries targeted prior to de-internationalisation.

This study's objective is to investigate the extent to which coopetition (collaboration with rivals) and competitor-oriented practices (knowledge of and acting upon competitors' strengths and weaknesses) helped facilitate the development of owners' capabilities over the pre- through to the immediate post pandemic (COVID-19) period. A retrospective, longitudinal instrumental case study features the under-researched 3-year timescale up to the end of ‘lockdowns’ across most countries. Interviews (and secondary data collection) took place with owners of 40 Canadian restaurants associated with different cuisines and possessing respective weak and strong network ties in a single city. New findings highlight how coopetition and competitor-oriented practices facilitated the development and/or enhancement of ‘psychological contracts.’ In turn, knowledge of with whom to engage in coopetition activities and the extent of involvement, helped owners to avoid failure, maintain family employment, and sustain other local businesses. Additionally, strategic flexibility enabled owners to pivot aspects of their business models, develop foresight, plus resilience. Unique insights contribute to theory and practice, highlighting that coopetition and competitor-oriented practices changed during the evolving conditions of COVID-19. Owners rapidly transformed certain ‘operational’ capabilities into those of a higher level (namely, capabilities of a ‘threshold’ and potentially ‘dynamic’ nature) to meet changing objectives.

Earlier research has established that a positive relationship exists between coopetition (the interplay between cooperation and competition) and financial performance. However, certain studies have investigated this link as being linear and/or without potential moderating factors. Consequently, under resource-based theory (and its association with the relational view), this current study evaluates the non-linear (quadratic - inverted U-shaped) relationship between coopetition and financial performance under different degrees of industry experience. Survey data collection took place via a sample of 101 wine producers in New Zealand (passing all major assessments of reliability and validity, including common method variance and endogeneity bias). Additionally, 20 semi-structured interviews explored the in-depth meanings behind the statistical results. Specifically, the findings indicated that coopetition exhibited a quadratic relationship with financial performance. Furthermore, industry experience positively moderated this association, as it helps decision-makers to yield mutually beneficial performance outcomes. Collectively, this study contributes to knowledge by evaluating the complexities of coopetition strategies and their impact on financial performance. This investigation ends with some practitioner implications, alongside a series of limitations and avenues for future research.