Managing Coopetition with Employees: An Knowledge Appropriation Perspective

This paper conceptualizes the management of knowledge appropriation tensions between a firm and its employees as an important manifestation of coopetition management. It addresses the deficiencies of the knowledge management (KM) literature in analyzing the nature and dynamics of different knowledge appropriation strategies and the coopetition literature in examining the coopetitive relationship between a firm and its employees. Theoretical propositions are developed to illustrate how the firm’s adoption of a tighter appropriation regime (i.e. a more competitive approach) vis-à-vis a looser appropriation regime (i.e. a more cooperative approach) will affect its coopetitive relationship with the employees and subsequently its long-term KM and innovation performances.