The economics of the smart card industry: Towards coopetitive strategies

This article uses an explorative case study of the smart card industry where ‘coopetition’ is to be found. We show that the nature of interaction between smart card actors, dealing with industry and market conditions that create a very complex competitive landscape, constitutes a mix of competition and cooperation. Here, we assume that the paradoxical aspect of competition and cooperation [Quinn, R.E. and Cameron, K.S. (1988) Paradox and Transformation. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger] can be juxtaposed in order to understand the strategic phenomena characterizing actors' interactions. Actors cooperate in some activities and compete on other ones. Such strategic behaviour is called coopetitive strategy, which is increasingly adopted by high-tech industry players.