Value Creation Tension in Coopetition: Virtuous and Vicious Cycles

Intent to create value is the raison d'être for participation in coopetition, but the complexitiesand challenges of value creation are poorly understood relative to other areas of the coopetitionliterature. Our essay highlights how simultaneous efforts to pursue firm value creation and jointvalue creation leads to challenges and unique tension in coopetition. We develop the conceptof ‘value creation tension’ to explain how efforts towards firm value creation in coopetitioncan undermine joint value creation and vice versa. We also demonstrate how such tensionmanifests in challenges faced by managers, in terms of cognition, behaviour, and emotion.Drawing from the paradox literature, we suggest that attempts to resolve, manage, ormanipulate tension may reinforce the positives, leading to virtuous cycles, or negatives, leadingto vicious cycles. Our essay offers foundations for addressing a critical but currentlyunderexplored tension in coopetition; offering avenues for future research within and beyondthe coopetition literature.