Competing through coopetition: A strategy for success in hotel marketing consortia

Coopetition is a strategy for a company to achieve a competitive advantage in the market environment. However, little is known about how coopetition works in the hotel sector and which organizational departments perform better in terms of coopetitive behaviour. In this research, coopetition is analysed in the context of international hotel marketing consortia (HMC) operating in Portugal. Exploratory interviews and a survey were conducted to consortia members to analyze managers’ perceptions on coopetitive behaviour and the organizational departments engaged in coopetition. The results show that there is higher cooperation than competition in the marketing and research & investigation departments. The research findings support consortia managers to make an informed decision to augment or reduce coopetition inside and outside companies based on two dimensions: internal and external. Internally by enhancing cooperation and reducing competition behaviour according to relationships observed between members; externally, by formulating strategies for the future, thereby increasing the intensity of coopetition according to expansion goals. Finally, theoretical and managerial contributions are presented, followed by recommendations for further research.