Sustainable product innovation through horizontal coopetition: The role of boundary-­spanning search and partner similarity

Xia Wu; Jianjun Yang; Sandra Hasanefendic; Bart Bossink

doi:10.1002/bse.4230

Sustainable product innovation through horizontal coopetition: The role of boundary-spanning search and partner similarity

Xia Wu, Jianjun Yang^*, Sandra Hasanefendic, Bart Bossink

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

This study is the first to examine the mediating role of boundary- spanning search and the moderating role of partner similarity in horizontal coopetition for sustainable product innovation. Analyzing empirical data from 236 Chinese firms, we found that horizontal coopetition positively impacts both proactive search (aimed at surpassing competitors) and responsive search (aimed at following competitors), with a stronger influence on proactive search. Both search types mediate the relationship between horizontal coopetition and sustainable product innovation. Furthermore, greater competing similarity (e.g., market coverage) between firms and their partners increases firms' inclination toward proactive search under the influence of horizontal coopetition but weakens their tendency for responsive search. Conversely, greater cooperating similarity (e.g., corporate culture) increases firms' inclination toward responsive search under the influence of horizontal coopetition but weakens their tendency for proactive search.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-16
Number of pages	16
Journal	Business Strategy and the Environment
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4230 https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.4230
Publication status	Published - Mar 2025

Funding

The author gratefully acknowledges support from the China Scholarship Council for the Joint PhD Program (Project ID: 202306280233), the Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Sciences Youth Fund (Grant No. 23XJC630001), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. XJSJ23116), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 72362032), and the Major Project of the National Social Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 22&ZD146). The author gratefully acknowledges support from the China Scholarship Council for the Joint PhD Program (Project ID: 202306280233), the Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Sciences Youth Fund (Grant No. 23XJC630001), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. XJSJ23116), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 72362032), and the Major Project of the National Social Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 22&ZD146). Funding:

Funders	Funder number
China Scholarship Council	202306280233
National Natural Science Foundation of China	72362032
National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences	22&ZD146
Humanities and Social Sciences Youth Foundation, Ministry of Education	23XJC630001
Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities	XJSJ23116

Access to Document

Persistent URL (handle)

Persistent link

Cite this

@article{3dd7e20be5104459a44f169d0cce01a2,

title = "Sustainable product innovation through horizontal coopetition: The role of boundary-spanning search and partner similarity",

abstract = "This study is the first to examine the mediating role of boundary- spanning search and the moderating role of partner similarity in horizontal coopetition for sustainable product innovation. Analyzing empirical data from 236 Chinese firms, we found that horizontal coopetition positively impacts both proactive search (aimed at surpassing competitors) and responsive search (aimed at following competitors), with a stronger influence on proactive search. Both search types mediate the relationship between horizontal coopetition and sustainable product innovation. Furthermore, greater competing similarity (e.g., market coverage) between firms and their partners increases firms' inclination toward proactive search under the influence of horizontal coopetition but weakens their tendency for responsive search. Conversely, greater cooperating similarity (e.g., corporate culture) increases firms' inclination toward responsive search under the influence of horizontal coopetition but weakens their tendency for proactive search.",

author = "Xia Wu and Jianjun Yang and Sandra Hasanefendic and Bart Bossink",

year = "2025",

month = mar,

doi = "10.1002/bse.4230",

language = "English",

pages = "1--16",

journal = "Business Strategy and the Environment",

issn = "0964-4733",

publisher = "John Wiley and Sons Ltd",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Sustainable product innovation through horizontal coopetition

T2 - The role of boundary-spanning search and partner similarity

AU - Wu, Xia

AU - Yang, Jianjun

AU - Hasanefendic, Sandra

AU - Bossink, Bart

PY - 2025/3

Y1 - 2025/3

N2 - This study is the first to examine the mediating role of boundary- spanning search and the moderating role of partner similarity in horizontal coopetition for sustainable product innovation. Analyzing empirical data from 236 Chinese firms, we found that horizontal coopetition positively impacts both proactive search (aimed at surpassing competitors) and responsive search (aimed at following competitors), with a stronger influence on proactive search. Both search types mediate the relationship between horizontal coopetition and sustainable product innovation. Furthermore, greater competing similarity (e.g., market coverage) between firms and their partners increases firms' inclination toward proactive search under the influence of horizontal coopetition but weakens their tendency for responsive search. Conversely, greater cooperating similarity (e.g., corporate culture) increases firms' inclination toward responsive search under the influence of horizontal coopetition but weakens their tendency for proactive search.

AB - This study is the first to examine the mediating role of boundary- spanning search and the moderating role of partner similarity in horizontal coopetition for sustainable product innovation. Analyzing empirical data from 236 Chinese firms, we found that horizontal coopetition positively impacts both proactive search (aimed at surpassing competitors) and responsive search (aimed at following competitors), with a stronger influence on proactive search. Both search types mediate the relationship between horizontal coopetition and sustainable product innovation. Furthermore, greater competing similarity (e.g., market coverage) between firms and their partners increases firms' inclination toward proactive search under the influence of horizontal coopetition but weakens their tendency for responsive search. Conversely, greater cooperating similarity (e.g., corporate culture) increases firms' inclination toward responsive search under the influence of horizontal coopetition but weakens their tendency for proactive search.

U2 - 10.1002/bse.4230

DO - 10.1002/bse.4230

M3 - Article

SN - 0964-4733

SP - 1

EP - 16

JO - Business Strategy and the Environment

JF - Business Strategy and the Environment

ER -