Learning Strategies in Coopetitive Environments

The objective of this chapter is to explore the learning strategies that can be deployed by firms in coopetitive configurations with no other choice than deploying an “adverse learning” mechanism to reach their customers through cooperation with their competitors. After exploring the mechanisms of asymmetric learning in a first section, the chapter adopts an ecological perspective (Hawley, 1950) in drawing parallels between animal organization and groups of firms in gaining a strategic advantage through asymmetric learning.