Co-opetition and Technological Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Multilevel Conceptual Model

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) face tremendous challenges in their attempt to pursue technological innovations. This paper argues that co-opetition strategy—simultaneous pursuit of competition and collaboration—helps SMEs to develop their ability to effectively pursue technological innovations. We developed a multilevel conceptual model consisting of factors at the industry, dyadic, and firm level to understand the drivers of co-opetition and discuss benefits and costs of co-opetition for SMEs. We believe that this paper will stimulate future conceptual and empirical research on this important topic and has implications for SME managers and policymakers.