Fostering Coopetition Through Market Extension and Co-Creation in the Global Pharmaceutical Sector

We explore conditions under which collaboration between pharmaceutical firms from 'advanced' and emerging countries becomes preferable to rivalry. We show that that when agreements, such as Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (IP) Rights, allow advanced country firms to take legal action against emerging country firms, whose products are perceived as infringing their IP, collaboration can prove preferable to both parties when the latter can leverage complementary assets and capabilities to extend and co-create market space. This co-opetitive outcome is fostered when the scope and duration of IP rights is contestable. Important implications follow for managerial practice