Methodological Triangulation in Understanding Coopetition: Evidence from Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

This study aims to demonstrate the contribution of qualitative techniques and methods in extending the understanding of coopetitionCoopetition. The study investigates four Indian pharmaceutical organisations using various data collection methodologies, including primary data collection based on the factors of coopetition, semi-structured interviews with middle and senior-level executives within each organisation, and secondary data sources. The triangulation and multiple case study approaches are applied to understand the inter-organisational relationships in the context of competitors’ alliances in the pharmaceutical industry. This case-based approach provided in-depth knowledge about simultaneous competitionCompetition and cooperationCooperation between the rival partners, thus making this study unique in many ways and contributing to the coopetitionCoopetition literature. This study enhances our understanding in several key ways: firstly, it analyzes the influence of various coopetition factors within competitors' alliances; secondly, it leverages this framework to augment our understanding of the interactions between competing partners, leading to the development of a hierarchical conceptual model; thirdly, it delves into the application of triangulation and multiple case study methods, approaches that have been underutilized in the pharmaceutical industry's exploration of coopetition; and finally, it meticulously breaks down the methodologies employed, shedding light on their significant contributions to the study's findings.