Practicing coopetition for food supply chain sustainability: a contextual perspective in the Norwegian fishing industry

Abstract

With growing concerns about sustainability, competing companies in the food supply chain are compelled to engage in non-traditional forms of collaboration. Coopetition (i.e. horizontal collaboration with competitors) is gaining attention as a means of improving sustainability performance in supply chains. However, little is known in the existing literature about the causal mechanism and conditions of coopetition to improve supply chain sustainability in the food industry. Based on an embedded case study in the Norwegian fishing industry, we posit several propositions and develop an empirical framework delineating the relationship between coopetition and supply chain sustainability. The case study research is informed by semi-structured interviews corroborated by relevant secondary data. Our findings reveal a set of dynamic capabilities through which coopetition improves supply chain sustainability. Besides, laws and regulations, and certification and standards, positively impact the relationship between coopetition and supply chain sustainability. Conversely, insufficient funds, conflicts of interest, and firm size affect the same relationship negatively. This study contributes to the literature by providing valuable insights into coopetition as a source of dynamic capabilities. In addition, our results show how coopetition can best be leveraged by managers to improve the sustainability of the food supply chain.