Coopetition in the Travel and Tourism Industry: Examining Firm Performance Outcomes

The travel and hospitality industry has experienced growth post Covid19, fostering collaboration among platforms and other industry players (Bahar, Nenonen, & Starr Jr, 2022; Vinogradov, Leick, & Kivedal, 2020). To attract and retain customers, hotels increasingly collaborate with platforms and other hotels despite being competitors (Bahar, Nenonen, & Starr Jr, 2022; Sharma & Nicolau, 2019). Such coexistence of competition and collaboration, is known  as “coopetition” (Brandenburger & Nalebuff, 1996; Bengtsson & Raza-Ullah, 2016; Raza-Ullah, 2020). Empirical studies indicate that, in comparison to solely cooperative or competitive approaches, embracing coopetition can result in enhanced business performance if it is managed effectively (Gnyawali & Park, 2011; Hannah & Eisenhardt, 2018; Raza-Ullah, 2021; Raza-Ullah et al., 2023). Some strategy scholars have recently begun to examine coopetition’s role in enhancing sustainability outcomes (e.g., Christ et al., 2017; Manzhynski & Figge, 2020), yet this line of research is still in its infancy (e.g., Cozzolino & Rothaermel, 2018; Bengtsson & Raza-Ullah, 2016; Raza-Ullah, 2020). Despite the high prevalence of coopetition in the tourism and hospitality sector such as hotel-hotel and platforms-hotels coopetition, the research on how coopetition may affect the sustainability, economic, and financial performance of hotels is limited (Fong et al., 2021).

Existing studies on coopetition in the tourism and hospitality sector have mainly focused on tourism destinations (Chim-Miki & Batista-Canino, 2017; Della Corte & Aria, 2016; Grauslund & Hammershøy, 2021), are exploratory/qualitative in nature (Czakon & Czernek, 2016; Kylanen & Rusko, 2011), and/or explore various relational and contextual factors within coopetition, including the role of trust, governance mechanisms, and institutional logics (Czernek & Czakon, 2016; Fong, Wong, & Hong, 2018). Yet, large scale quantitative studies exploring the consequences of coopetition on firm performance in terms of social, environmental, and economic performance are scant. We argue that in the tourism and hospitality context, hotels should prioritize coopetition with other competitors and interact with entities, such as other hotels and available platforms. Given this context, our research will be aimed to examine the relationship between coopetition dynamics and various levels of firm performance, including sustainability performance, environmental performance, and economic performance. The potential effects of trust on the relationship between coopetition and different levels of firm performance will also be investigated. The study findings are expected to provide empirical insights into the intricate nature of business relationships among hotels, including the effective management of coopetition and its impact on various outcomes such as sustainability, financial performance, and economic performance.

Entry qualifications

Entrants must have a Master in Business Administration or relevant post-graduate degree to be eligible for the doctorate in the UK. Prior exposure to research publications, attending/presenting in academic research conferences, and understanding of SPSS/AMOS will be an added advantage.

Fees and funding

This is a self-funded PhD project for UK applicants.