What is it about?
Entrepreneurs often cooperate with one another, even when vying for the same resources and customers. As their industry matures, competition tends to intensify while cooperation diminishes. We show that entrepreneurs in the craft beer industry share a collective identity that sustains both competitive and cooperative behavior over time. Craft brewers’ shared belief that, “a rising tide lifts all boats,” encourages competition based on continual quality improvement, serving to strengthen the entire craft beer industry segment.
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Why is it important?
Our findings show that cooperation among individual, craft-based businesses can strengthen the entire group—especially when their market segment is under competitive pressure from large, multinational corporations. A key factor underlying this cooperation is a shared, oppositional collective identity dedicated to assisting new entrants, while encouraging competition based on quality.
Perspectives
We hope this article encourages others to think of business as something more than pure competition. The craft beer industry is an exciting context to explore how we can collaborate to build not only successful organizations, but also to create and sustain dynamic, new market segments that diversify the overall economy. Competition need not mean stomping out your rivals—it can also mean holding one another to high standards, and working toward larger goals reflecting a set of shared norms and values.
Dr Casey J. Frid
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: An identity perspective on coopetition in the craft beer industry, Strategic Management Journal, December 2017, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/smj.2734.
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