- Title
- Co-opetition for corporate responsibility & sustainability and firm performance
- Creator
- Kumar, Amit
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- In recent years, there has been heightened interest in the topics of co-opetition, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. Most of this interest, has however, treated each component as a separate entity, making an integrated perspective (that includes all three components) very rare. A commitment to form partnerships to advance the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) created by the United Nations in 2015 has been one of the drivers leading to the unification of CSR and sustainable development to form the concept of corporate responsibility and sustainability (CRS). In turn, this has led more firms to engage in CSR and sustainability practices to address the social and environmental consequences of their business activities. However, the reported results of their efforts have been inconclusive thus far. Further, questions concerning the impact of co-opetition in CRS on firm performance remain unresolved. Consequently, this thesis aims to provide new insights into co-opetition in CRS – firm performance research. Specifically, this study sets out to answer the question, “Why and how do firms engage in co-opetition in relation to CRS, and how does this affect firm performance?” To answer this question, the research applies a stakeholder perspective to investigate the relationship between co-opetition in CRS and firm performance. Both financial and social outcomes are included. The three empirical studies included in this thesis explore the driver(s), dimension(s), and outcome(s) of co-opetition in relation to CRS at the firm level in Australia. The first empirical study concerns the driver(s) and helps to introduce and unpack the phenomenon of co-opetition in CRS. This initial exploration of a set of driver(s) leads to the second study which concerns the identification of key dimension(s) of co-opetition in CRS. In the third study, the measures of dimension(s) further help in investigating empirical relationships among variables undertaken in this study. As outlined previously the first study explores the drivers, critical success factors, and different forms of co-opetition in relation to CRS. The research findings provide support for co-opetitive approaches to CSR and sustainability by providing evidence within an Australian context. Specifically, the findings indicate the presence of three types of drivers (commonality-driven, competition-driven, and collaboration-driven) and three critical success factors (governance, public policy, and relationship principles) related to co-opetition in CRS. The study also investigates a range of sustainability-related co-opetitive strategies that are likely to be beneficial for both organisations and society. The second study develops and validates a new instrument (created by the researcher) to measure the multidimensional nature of co-opetition to CRS. In particular, this study empirically validates the distinctiveness of three dimensions of co-opetition (commonality-driven, competition-driven, and collaboration-driven) in relation to CRS. It also presents a 15-item multidimensional scale for co-opetition in CRS. The findings also suggest that a three-dimensional model has more validity than a unidimensional or two-dimensional model of co-opetition in CRS. These empirical results remain robust when subjected to a variety of additional tests addressing model validation and when several fitness indices are used for competing models. Overall, this study adds value as prior studies have mostly been conceptual or qualitative in nature and lack a focus on all three aspects of co-opetition, CSR and sustainability together. The third study investigates the relationship between co-opetition in CRS and firm performance. While inter-firm co-opetition has increasingly been adopted as a strategy to enhance financial performance, its strategic value in CSR and sustainability has not been tested to date. Through applying a stakeholder perspective, the findings confirm that co-opetition in CRS can lead to improved firm performance with regard to both financial and social outcomes. Moreover, the presence of certain stakeholder attributes can also lead to improved firm performance. Notably, stakeholder attributes strongly moderate the relationship between co-opetition in CRS and firm financial performance, whereas there is no evidence of such moderation for the co-opetition in the CRS – social performance relationship. These empirical results remain robust after controlling for common-method variance bias, potential endogeneity and the employment of alternative objective measures of firm performance. In summary, this thesis provides a deeper understanding of the driver(s), dimension(s), and outcome(s) of co-opetition in CRS by applying a stakeholder perspective. This study also focuses on the moderating roles of important stakeholder attributes by linking co-opetition in CRS to firm performance. Moreover, the study not only addresses widespread methodological concerns, it also suggests important implications for different market players. First, if corporate managers pursue effective co-opetitive strategy in relation to CSR and sustainability, the associated benefits could be realised in terms of improved firm financial and social performance aspects that are crucial to firms’ long-term survival. For this to occur, it is necessary to consider specific stakeholder attributes as outlined in the third study of this thesis. Next, when designing and overseeing related policies and guidelines, policymakers are advised to take into consideration the broad outcomes of co-opetition in CRS which include sustainability performance across economic, social and environmental dimensions. For stakeholders, the thesis findings indicate that collaboration with external stakeholders (such as competing firms) can lead to the development of improved capabilities necessary for sustainable development. Overall, the research findings suggest that management should consider the inclusion of co-opetition in CRS to improve their firm’s sustainability performance. Collaborating with a firm’s biggest competitor may provide the best opportunity to achieve more in relation to sustainability. A clear message here is “turn your competitors into partners” which could be considered a smart way to grow and sustain firms in future years. Therefore, a call for greater collaboration through co-opetitive processes is strongly recommended—not just at the firm level, but globally. This is particularly important when advancement is sought towards achieving the UN’s sustainable development goals such as those relating to the revitalisation of global partnerships for sustainable development.
- Subject
- co-opetition; CSR drivers and success factors; collaboration with competitors; coopetition; effective power; legitimate stake; sustainability; typology; scale development; stakeholder attributes; financial performance; social performance; firm performance; corporate social responsibility
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1504301
- Identifier
- uon:55491
- Rights
- Copyright 2021 Amit Kumar
- Language
- eng
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