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The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of cooperative relationships among competing firms by highlighting the purpose for, and the degree of cooperation in, different areas of joint activities. It also aims to examine factors fostering or hindering cooperation between competing firms.

The data used in this study were collected from September 2007 to February 2008 from 100 small and medium‐sized leather shoe manufacturing firms operating in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The study result shows that most firms operate not in isolation, but in collaboration with other firms at the same stage of a value chain. They use cooperation with other firms primarily for accessing financial and tangible resources that are essential for plugging gaps in internal capabilities. While geographical proximity of firms facilitated by kinship and regional background of families foster cooperative relationship; negative perception to competition and lack of trust to partner firms are factors that hinder effective cooperative relationship among competing firms.

The study has important implications for governments and enterprise support organizations that seek to enhance competitiveness of small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) through horizontal inter‐firm cooperation in Ethiopia, and elsewhere in sub‐Saharan Africa.

There are very few Ethiopian studies that have focused on horizontal inter‐firm cooperation. This paper, therefore, contributes to the body of knowledge by looking deep into the purpose for, and degree of cooperation, as well as factors fostering or constraining the emergence and sustainable continuation of alternative forms of cooperative relationship among competing SMEs in Ethiopia.

Manufacturing and services SMEs in Africa face challenges and constraints exacerbated by ineffectual government policies, environmental turbulence and the near absence of institutional support. The purpose of this paper is to investigate if informal linkages and formal cooperation are helping firms to overcome constraints to uptake of technological innovations in Nigeria.

The paper is based on quantitative data obtained from structured interviews of 631 Nigerian firms. These firms were selected using stratified random sampling from a total population of 18,906 manufacturing and services companies in the national database obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics.

The result of the binary logistic regression indicates that while informal linkages appear to be insignificant, formal inter-firm cooperation is an effective moderator of barriers to technological innovations.

The paper focusses only on technological, rather than non-technological, innovations.

The paper recommends that, in addition to other interventions to promote diffusion of technological innovations, governments should give priority to interventions that support formal cooperation among SMEs.

Previous studies have generally looked at the impact of cooperative networks on firms’ innovation uptake. This paper provides original insights into the “how” of cooperative impact, specifically with respect to helping SMEs to overcome constraints. The paper also delineates formal cooperation from informal linkages.

The purpose of this study is to carry out the systematic literature review, bibliometric analysis and content analysis of extant literature of service supply chain (SSC).

Systematic literature review (SLR) technique was used for identifying the research papers. In the first step after reading titles, abstracts and keywords and, full-length articles wherever required, papers not related to SSC were removed. In second steps papers were read more critically and papers not related to SSC were removed. Finally on 502 papers bibliometric and content analysis was further carried out. Content analysis was based on the clusters formed by bibliographic coupling. Further, content analysis of the recent articles revealed the current research trends and research gaps.

This paper identified the six existing research diversifications in SSC as (1) logistics SSC, (2) model, framework and conceptual papers, (3) third-party logistics service providers, (4) articles from various perspective, (5) measurement of quality and performance on services and (6) impact of adoption of technology, cooperation and branding on logistics service providers. Further, six future research directions are also provided.

This research provides a clear view of the progression of publication, research diversification, research themes of six identified clusters, sub-themes of clusters and content analysis of each cluster. Content analysis of recent articles reveals the current research trend and future research directions.

This is a first of its kind of study which presents the diversification of research areas within SSC, bibliometric analysis, content analysis and provides actionable future research direction.

This study aims to understand to what extent family firms engage in and understand the importance of cooperation whilst analysing the underlying barriers that may restrain cooperative engagement.

Considering the purpose of this study, a qualitative exploratory approach is adopted, using a multiple case study methodology, consisting of four cases. Thus, interviews were chosen as the source of data collection, as this allows proximity and involvement with those with power to engage in cooperation.

The results highlight that family business particularities seem to have an aggravating effect on the general barriers to cooperative engagement. Managerial characteristics such as risk aversion, concern about independence and emotional attachment to the business, along with a lack of qualified knowledge, seem to be the most salient obstacles.

Interfirm cooperation has become more vital for organizational success. However, empirical contributions regarding the barriers to engaging in cooperation, especially within a family business context, are limited. This study seeks to present theoretical barriers to engaging in interfirm cooperation and effectively link them within a family business context.

Being structured around the underlying challenges for interfirm cooperation, this paper contributes to advancing this specific research stream and presents practical contributions for managers for more effective implementation.

The International Labor Organization (2020) estimates that eight out of ten enterprises (i.e. own-account workers and small economic units) are informal worldwide. However, less is known about the internationalization of informal enterprises. Here, it is argued that economic blocs, such as sub-Saharan Africa, with a greater proportion of informal enterprises, may provide broader societal legitimacy for them to operate internationally. Thus, informal firms would need to collaborate with other firms to overcome their resource constraints. Geographic colocation is one way to facilitate positive interfirm interactions that promote networking and subsequently cooperation. The purpose of this paper is, thus, to addresses two questions. Firstly, how and to what extent does interfirm marketing cooperation in geographic colocation influence the internationalization of micro and small informal manufacturing enterprises? Secondly, how do the perceived benefits of local external economies moderate this relationship?

The study draws evidence from 125 randomly selected informal enterprises located in two major clusters in Ghana, using a mixed-method approach.

The partial least square - structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis applied revealed two central points. Firstly, sharing marketing costs allows informal firms to upgrade their phases of export development directly. Secondly, the linkage of increasing sales activities and local external economies encourages the progress of the phases of export development and the scope of internationalization. Results confirm that the cluster benefits of interfirm cooperation and local external economies on the informal firm internationalization process complement each other in addition to their linear relationship.

The study contributes to understanding the nexus of the informal sector, geographic colocation and the entrepreneurial internationalization literature. The results should motivate researchers and policymakers to approach informal firm internationalization through collaborative business activities.

The purpose of this paper is to study what motivates small businesses to engage in collective action, especially in high-tech industry.

Application domain is smart living industry, in which installation companies offer ICT-enabled solutions for smart home services. A survey was conducted among 140 small/medium installation companies in smart living industry which are members of a major Dutch branch organization. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to model and analyse data from the survey.

The paper found that different types of motivations do not significantly increase the collective orientation of small businesses. Moreover, the current involvement of small companies in smart living projects is not directly related to their collective orientation.

The lack of collaboration is resulting in market fragmentation and lack of technological interoperability. The paper advise policy makers to provide selective incentives to stimulate collaboration and to facilitate knowledge sharing on best practices and collective business cases.

The motivational factors for collective action between small businesses in high-tech sectors have rarely been studied. Although many studies addresses collective action issues on an individual level, the literature lacks an integration of existing theories into a set of testable hypotheses that aim at motivators and inhibitors of inter-organizational collective action.

This paper aims to focus on the perceived role of clusters in inter‐firm cooperation and social networks.

The study was carried out in a region of Latin America where limited research has been conducted in terms of inter‐firm relationships. Managers from three key natural resources‐based industries in Chile participated in the survey; one of these industries constituted a well‐defined cluster whereas the other two did not. The survey assessed managers' perceptions of the benefits and opportunities of inter‐firm cooperation in strategic marketing activities.

Results support the advantages of clusters. Managers of firms which are part of clustered industries tend to perceive more benefits and opportunities for inter‐firm co‐operation in marketing activities. Additionally, significant differences between clustered and non‐clustered industries in terms of their co‐operation behavior and objectives were found.

The findings shed light on strategies for the enhancement of inter‐firm cooperation in marketing, of particular value for marketers in small‐and‐medium sized enterprises. The paper suggests establishing new clusters and promoting more regional clusters policies since clustering seems to provide better and positive inter‐firm interaction leading to cooperation.

There are lessons to be learned at national and regional levels for Latin American and emerging economies fostering new industry cluster policies.

Clustered firms and industries may result in more innovative marketing strategies at both local and international levels than non‐clustered firms. The authors encourage regional development bodies to foster more cooperation among firms and trade associations.

To investigate the influence of national or sub‐national culture and company size on inter‐firm cooperation in marketing among cluster‐based firms, with specific respect to the salmon‐farming industry.

Case study analysis of data collected from semi‐structured personal interviews with senior managers in two samples of different sized companies, located in industry clusters within Scotland and Chile.

Small firms in this industry in Scotland are more proactive in building inter‐firm cooperation, for international marketing activities. National culture has only a limited effect on the level inter‐firm cooperation, but sub‐national culture in distinctive communities can enhance it.

Though the samples were representative and the data rich, this was designed to be a qualitative, exploratory study. Further research is indicated.

The findings shed light on strategies for the enhancement of formal and informal social networks as a route to effective inter‐firm cooperation in marketing, of particular value marketers in small‐and‐medium sized enterprises. They may also be of interest to public bodies, with respect to the role of trade associations.

This industry makes a substantial contribution to the rural and regional economies of both the countries. The findings and conclusions are potentially useful to marketing researchers and planners in aquaculture, and may be transferable to other industries and locations.

The aim of this paper is to theoretically model and empirically analyze determinants of competitiveness of Brazilian manufacturing firms. Going beyond traditional manufacturing management literature, it integrates firm‐, inter‐firm, and institutional level theoretical arguments to explain manufacturing competitiveness in emerging economy environments.

The model investigates the influence of firm‐, inter‐firm, and institutional level factors on the competitiveness of individual companies. The authors surveyed 182 firms, and interviewed a representative sub sample of 15 general managers. The survey and interview questions covered practices at the three theoretical levels, as well as firm performance. In a subsequent step, the authors used this data to statistically model the theory framework through a structural equation system.

The paper finds that institutional level support, in the form of stronger participation in institutional organizations, enhances the effectiveness of inter‐firm links. Moreover, this institutional support also provides firms with information and other resources that foster the development of superior intra‐firm practices and inter‐firm relationships. In sum, the combination of inter‐firm and institutional associations lead to stronger performance.

The model and findings cannot be generalized across other institutional environments (e.g. developed economies). Moreover, the interplay between horizontal and vertical relationships must be studied further. Last but not least, causality must be better established.

Investments in manufacturing capabilities in Brazil have resulted in performance differentials. However, to accrue performance gains from such investments, firms must integrate those investments and alliance links with the appropriate institutional support, given the deficient institutional environment they are immersed in.

The paper supplements traditional manufacturing management literature by integrating firm‐, inter‐firm and institutional level factors to understand the intricate forms by which firms in emerging economies accrue performance gains from their investments in manufacturing capabilities. Differently from other studies on emerging economies, the study spans beyond government investments in infrastructure to highlight that performance gains also depend on a cadre of other investments in firm‐, inter‐firm, and institutional practices.

The purpose of this study is to specify cultural properties that influence inter-firm cooperation, advancing a conventional theoretical economic-based framework.

An evaluation of concepts related to parametric cultural assessment was the theoretical foundation for structural aspects of inter-firm collaboration, documented in an empirical study that investigates cross-cultural analysis. This study was based on research at a cross-national level, allowing cultural disparities to be captured. Therefore, the empirical basis was the sixth World Values Survey, which is the largest cross-national project for assessment of cultural values.

It was found that cultural properties, as freedom of choice; advancement of norms for equal dissemination of power; low perceived uncertainty; strategic orientation on the future; and spread norms of humanistic orientation would further develop inter-firm cooperation.

The current study specifies a systematic and practical definition of attributes in the culture of inter-firm collaboration. Advantages of such advanced frameworks are more sustainable collaboration models, decreased expenses of inter-firm coordination methods and possibilities for establishing network knowledge among collaborating firms – a necessity for competitive advantage in today’s global economy.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous research has been undertaken that specifies cultural properties influencing inter-firm cooperation, advancing a conventional theoretical economic-based framework.