SYNERGY BY COMPETITION: HOW BEST PRACTICES CAN BE SHARED A CASE STUDY OF TONY’S CHOCOLONELY
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2022-08-31
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en
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Drawing on interviews, newspaper articles and internal documents, this research examines how an organization can stimulate imitation of practices through coopetition. Coopetition is a concept used to describe the combination of cooperation and competition, to define an interorganizational relationship. Research has been done toward imitation, although never from the perspective of an organization that is being imitated. In this thesis the opportunity arose to examine an organization that is being imitated instead of organizations that imitate. A single case study toward chocolate brand Tony’s Chocolonely provides insights in how they cooperate with competition and how competing companies can be stimulated to start imitating.
Existing literature is mostly negative about imitation, findings of this study describe the positive effects of imitation. Leading by example helps to convince competitors to imitate through coopetition. By providing a ready-to-use program, imitation becomes interesting, and coopetition becomes accessible for potential coopeting companies. For imitation to take place, an organization needs to be legitimate. The characteristics of legitimacy are clarified in this research. By explaining how imitation can be stimulated through coopetition and why coopetition is an interesting strategy for companies, this study provides a deeper understanding of the phenomenon and contributes to the literature of coopetition and imitation.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen