The tertius roles in a coopetitive context: The case of the European aeronautical and aerospace engineering sector

How can coopetition between rival firms be created and supported, given the risks of opportunism inherent to the coopetitive context? The literature on tertius gaudens (the third-actor who benefits from the others) and tertius iungens (the third who joins) provides some answers to this question. Using an abductive approach based on grounded theory, we sought to describe these tertius roles in the coopetitive process. We conducted 58 structured interviews in 37 organizations in the European aeronautical and aerospace engineering sector. We identified two main classes of third actors who play intermediation roles: decision-makers and go-betweens. Each competitor in the supply chain is managed in accordance with the third-actor profile.