Cooperation and Competition: The Case of the Swedish Commercial Printing Industry

Even though tough competition favours formation of alliances, competition between partners is difficult to handle. This qualitative case study investigates how a fragmented industry perceives the level of competition with their cooperative partners and the influence of organized alliances. The results indicate that when cooperation between partners is strong, the competition between partners tends to be perceived as weak, which can be a result of the high initial trust needed to cooperate. Thus, printing companies strive for strong cooperation with a few close trustful partners, which makes the competitive situation between these partners weak. The competitive impact of organized alliances is diversified, since the foremost reason for cooperation is to lower and share costs. However, the use of a franchise brand, in addition to the local brand, may strengthen the company’s competitive advantages on a national basis.