Identifying and prioritizing critical success factors for coopetition strategy

Purpose – Coopetition is a revolutionary mindset that combines competition and cooperation. This paper aims to determine and to examine success factors critical to coopetition strategy management and to explore the identified factors in Hong Kong manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a literature review and expert interviews following the analytic hierarchy process, this paper identifies and prioritizes seven critical success factors and 17 critical success sub‐factors comprising three success factor categories: management commitment, relationship development, and communication management. Findings – The results show that management leadership and development of trust are the most important success factors. Based on the factors identified, the authors propose a hierarchical model for coopetition strategy management, which has been validated in Hong Kong industry to facilitate the formulation of action plans for better coopetition management. Practical implications – The prioritization of critical success factors and sub‐factors can help practitioners understand their relative importance and develop improvement plans in cases where they lack sufficient resources to deal with all factors simultaneously. Originality/value – This paper identifies the critical factors for implementing coopetition and also validates and prioritizes them in Hong Kong manufacturing industry. It provides valuable information that can help manufacturers accomplish coopetition.