Strategic Choice between Competition and Cooperation through Strategic Alliance

The proposed study will investigate when a firm decides to compete or collaborate with its rival. Specifically, two types of alliances that represent competition (i.e., a focal firm’s alliance with its rival’s partner) and cooperation (i.e., a focal firm’s alliance with its rival) respectfully will be distinguished, and when a focal firm chooses the former or the latter will be examined. Although competition and cooperation are two major strategic options that companies commonly adopt, the factors that lead to each decision have not been explored yet. Thus, it is still unclear why firms decide to compete or cooperate with their rivals. The findings of the proposed study are expected to fill this gap in the literature and contribute to the strategic management literature by addressing the fundamental question in the strategy field.