Chain Networks on Internationalization of SMEs: Co-opetition Strategies in Agrifood Sector

This chapter examines the relationships between businesses’ export performance and co-opetition environment. Different analyses have shown that the firm’s exports capabilities are highly dependent on the multiple relationships of cooperation and competition established in the international supply chain. Recent studies also suggest that the challenges of international markets and the different bargaining power within the actors in the supply chain constitute a major driver, particularly for small firms, to cooperate with competitors. This analysis provides empirical evidence on both of these issues taking as reference a set of food exporters in southeast Spain. The results obtained show that diverse forms of collaboration with competitors, in both horizontal and vertical dimensions, have a positive bearing on export performance, and which is more apparent in hierarchical channels (large retailers as main buyers). Furthermore, the exporting intensity of firms is shown to promote co-opetition among suppliers, irrespective of the type of international chain. The findings provided open new research lines on co-opetition and small business performance in the dynamic environment of export channels.