Cooperation and competition are often viewed as incompatible, antagonistic forces, thus are operationalized as two extremes on a continuum. However, they can coexist and even enable each other, thus may be operationalized as orthogonal constructs. We address this contradictory phenomenon by developing a more granular view of the cooperation–competition paradox. Building on interdisciplinary research, we develop a three-dimensional model of relational space (fairness–opportunism, sharing–control, and engagement–rivalry), providing a novel tool with which to investigate the paradoxical interplay between cooperation and competition through eight operationalizable configurations. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we test our model by assessing how different configurations of interfirm relationships influence the short- and long-term success of a sample of 217 firms. Our findings show that only two of the eight possible relational configurations are associated with firm success, one in both the long and short term, and the other in the short term only.

合作和竞争通常被视为不相容的对抗力量，因此被视为连续统一体上的两个极端。但是，它们可以共存，甚至可以相互启用，因此可以作为正交结构进行操作。我们通过对合作-竞争悖论进行更细致的观察来解决这一矛盾现象。在跨学科研究的基础上，我们开发了关系空间的三维模型（公平-机会主义、共享-控制和参与-竞争），提供了一种新颖的工具，可以通过八种可操作的配置来研究合作与竞争之间的矛盾相互作用。使用模糊集定性比较分析（fsQCA），我们通过评估公司间关系的不同配置如何影响 217 家公司样本的短期和长期成功来测试我们的模型。我们的研究结果表明，八种可能的关系配置中只有两种与公司成功相关，一种是长期和短期的，另一种仅在短期内。