Introduction to coopetition and innovation: contemporary topics and future research opportunities

Coopetition - collaboration between competing firms - has become a prominent research stream in management literature. In particular, research has shown that coopetition can facilitate innovation among firms, networks, and ecosystems. However, coopetition also involves challenges and tensions, and research on its role in innovation is constantly bringing up new insights, issues, and research opportunities. To this end, this introductory article identifies and elaborates four major discourses in the intersection of coopetition and innovation literatures, and also positions the articles in this special issue within these discourses. We also discuss promising future research opportunities in the domain of coopetition and innovation.