In today’s dynamic and interconnected environment, companies are increasingly required to collaborate – even with competitors – to access the resources and knowledge they cannot generate alone. This makes coopetition strategies, alliances, and ecosystems increasingly significant.

Charlotte Chappert, University of Montpellier, is chair of Track 4.5 at the 2025 R&D Management Conference. Her co-chairs are Audrey Rouyre, MBS School of Business; Nina Telg, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; and André Nemeh, Rennes School of Business.

“The emphasis on integrating sustainability into these collaborative strategies is particularly timely,” says Charlotte. “While there is a growing pressure on organisations to transition towards sustainable business models, the change of focus can also create many opportunities for innovation across various dimensions.

“For example, integrating innovation and biodiversity can help change the rules of the game and inspire the creation of new markets in eco-tourism, sustainable cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products derived from natural compounds.

“Additionally, the challenge of biodiversity preservation fosters collaborative opportunities between diverse actors. It can encourage them to pool their efforts and resources to develop novel approaches.”

This track Coopetition, Ecosystems, Networks, and Alliances (CENA) explores how collaborative strategies can foster the development and implementation of green technologies and innovations.

Track 4.5 Coopetition, Ecosystems, Networks and Alliances (CENA)

Innovation often requires new strategic resources and knowledge that a single company may not have and this requires the organisation to open their innovation processes to collaboration, forming alliances, or engaging in coopetition with competitors within networks and ecosystems.

This approach can be examined at various levels—inter-organisational, organisational, and inter-individual—across diverse organisations and industries.

There has been a growing focus on integrating sustainability into these strategies, so understanding how (green) innovation interacts with coopetition, ecosystems, networks, and alliances is crucial for ensuring corporate survival and success in innovation.