Interplay of Competition and Cooperation in Wind Farm Interorganizational Projects: Relational Approach

Abstract

This paper answers the call for research addressing the structural and relational explanations of interorganizational projects (IOPs). It aims to contribute to extant knowledge by highlighting the relational structure of the interplay of competition and cooperation. Grounding the study in a relational structure, this paper analyzes two key properties of social networks, cohesion and centralization, and the properties of triadic relations. This study investigated the deployment of two wind farm IOPs in Brazil with the use of social network analysis supplemented by qualitative evidence. The results show that the interplay of competition and cooperation in IOPs is affected by their relational structure. The inefficiency of competitive relationships at the IOP implementation stage motivates the evolution of cooperation in a more cohesive and centralized relational structure. The results also show that a greater number of triads and a high degree of cohesion positively affect the interplay of competition and cooperation in the IOP context. These findings can guide researchers in addressing the theoretical and practical issues of the coopetition phenomenon in complex projects.