Open Workshop: Coopetition and Firms’ Export Performance — The Role of Productivity and Knowledge Sourcing
The aim of the Open Workshop Series in Business and Management Studies is to promote top-quality academic and applied research in various fields of the social sciences. This is a unique opportunity for sharing knowledge and networking with local and international community members.
Speaker: Prof. Marcus Dejardin, UCLouvain and University of Namur
Previous studies on coopetition, i.e. the collaboration between competing firms, have predominantly examined the factors leading to coopetitive interactions, with relatively little attention given to coopetition as a strategic approach, particularly in terms of how it enhances firm export performance.
This study, using a longitudinal dataset comprising 6,455 firms and 11,815 firm-year observations from 2010 to 2020, reveals that coopetition increases export intensity, particularly for firms with high productivity and collaborations with extra-industry players like customers and universities. Firms with intra-industry knowledge sources benefit less. The research distinguishes between the depth and breadth of coopetition, showing that firms gain more from collaborating with geographically dispersed competitors. Overall, coopetition’s impact on firm export performance is substantial and multifaceted.
By proposing one of the pioneering studies on the relationship between coopetition and firm exports, we aim to inspire new discussions and initiatives regarding the impact of coopetition on firm international expansion (joint work with Maksim Belitski, University of Reading, UK, and Luca Farè, University of Bergamo, Italy).
Marcus Dejardin is a Full Professor of Economics at the University of Namur and UCLouvain, and an Editor of Small Business Economics. He currently heads the Center for Research in Regional Economics and Economic Policy (DeFiPP-CERPE, UNamur) and is an academic member of the Interdisciplinary Research Center on Work, State, and Society (LIDAM-CIRTES, UCLouvain). He also leads the Chair of Excellence for Research and Expertise in Entrepreneurship (CHEREE, UNamur). Marcus was an assistant professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam and a visiting researcher at the Institute for Development Strategies, SPEA, Indiana University Bloomington, and the Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena. He has developed expertise in the economics of entrepreneurship and innovation, regional economics, and public policy analysis. He recently engaged in multidisciplinary research, particularly linking economics to social psychology, with psychologists from the universities of Louvain, Ghent, Rotterdam, and Quebec. He has published over 50 scientific articles, chapters, and books, and has raised more than 4 million euros in research funding as a promoter or co-promoter.
Discussion moderated by Prof. Arnis Sauka.
Attendance is free of charge.
Please sign up for the seminar, by writing to arnis.sauka@sseriga.edu by May 8, 2025.
The aim of the SSE Riga Open Workshop Series is to:
- Foster cooperation between business and management researchers, practitioners and policymakers, as well as
- Promote academic and applied research in various fields of the social sciences, focusing on but not limited to entrepreneurship, marketing, management, public administration, and strategy.
Organised by Professor Arnis Sauka, the Centre for Sustainable Business at SSE Riga