Significant competitive challenges are facing firms situated in sparsely populated, geographically remote regions where local markets have a limited scope, transportation costs are high and the customer base is too small. Forming collaborative networks among a coalition of service providers has been suggested as way to meet these problems as these may be able to develop competitive offerings (Pesämaa & Hair, 2008: Rusko, 2014), create and give access to other capabilities based on exploitation of the existing ones (Gnyawali & Park, 2011), but also give access and opportunity to create a common “bigger business pie” while competing when dividing it (Brandenburger & Nalebuff, 1995). Over 50% of collaborative relations (alliances) are between firms in the same industry, thus with competitors (Park et al., 2014), a strategy embodying simultaneous cooperation and competition between firms (Bengtsson & Kock, 2000), and the critical needs to create common and private benefits (Khanna et al. 1998: Park et al., 2014).Research on how to handle coopetition in order to create value and avoid tensions is scarce. There has therefore been calls for studies on how firms engage in coopetition (Gnyawali & Park 2011) and to what extent they can benefits from coopetition (Ritala & Tidström, 2014: Park et al., 2014). Furthermore, there are few empirical studies on drivers, dynamics and outcomes of coopetition (Gnyawali & Park, 2011) and studies explaining process related coopetitive interactions (Dahl, 2014), as well as in-depth case studies enhancing the understanding of how collective value creation and value appropriation take place in coopetition including multiple actors (Ritala & Tidström, 2014). Main drivers behind coopetition are argued (Rusko, 2010) to be creation of value in terms of improving the performance of participating companies through “coopetitive moves” – likely driven by relational and firm-level strategic objectives (Ritala & Tidström, 2014). The coopetitive network may also include public actors, initiating and supporting activities in order to promote regional development. In response to the calls for further in-depth, process-related case studies, the aim and contribution of this paper is to study how value creation and growth, in terms of new or enlarged establishments in a specific region, may be created through coopetition in a project network driven by public actors. A qualitative case-study was performed in 2015-2016 focusing a Swedish project network (Mele, 2011) of six actors: two companies: a private research foundation of four companies: two public actors: and a university research center fronting 25 companies within banking, insurance, pensions, accounting and property industries – all cooperating in a regional strategic network (RSN) structure since 2003. The project network aimed at increased employment in the region by addressing the RSN members and others in related industries with establishment proposals. Data was collected through participating observations, from interviews, a survey and grant applications. A multiple-level analysis was applied, focusing drivers, dynamics and outcomes. Relocation of 155 employees was a project network outcome. Knowledge sharing, mutual interaction and commitment were found to promote value-creation as was capability of acting within a coopetitive setting of closely related actors.
2016.