Coopetition between Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises to achieve Product Innovation: The relevance of Absorptive Capacity

Nowadays, innovation is a key factor in maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. Nevertheless, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) face enormous challenges to achieve product innovation. Coopetition strategy (collaboration between competing firms) might be an appropriate way for SMEs which want to fulfill their needs in terms of resources and competences to create and bring new product to the market. However, SMEs should have an adequate level of absorptive capacity to take advantage of coopetition. This paper aims to show the importance of absorptive capacity in this type of strategy, by developing a conceptual framework that highlights the different role of realized and potential absorptive capacity in the relationship between coopetition and product innovation.