The competition–cooperation paradox in inter-firm relationships: A conceptual framework

With a focus on inter-firm relationships involving the simultaneous pursuit of competition and cooperation, we develop a conceptual framework that explicates key paradoxical conditions, paradoxical tension, and performance implications of tension in such relationships. We propose felt tension as the actual manifestation of the paradox and offer insights on critical capabilities necessary to understand and manage the paradox. Our paper extends the paradox literature in the inter-organizational context and provides a set of concepts and propositions designed to stimulate systematic empirical research on the competition–cooperation paradox.