How Alliance Managers Sell Products with their own competitors? An Exploratory Research Estelle PELLEGRIN-BOUCHER ERFI Christophe FOURNIER CR2M Hervé FENNETEAU CR2M Université Montpellier 1

Some examples of coopetition Retailing : alliances between big and small firms (to reduce costs and better negociate with major outlets). Concerns Food, textile, hygiene etc. Financial Industry : Credit Card IT : Oracle, IBM, HP (hardware and software), + consulting firms sell together their products to their clients (especially in B to B marketing)

Agenda What is Coopetition ? Representation of the concept of coopetition in the selling area Research Question: case 1 ? Methodology Results & Implications Contribution and limits

What is Coopetition ? Case of alliance between competitors Differences with an alliance : –cooperate AND compete at the same time In literature about alliance –KSF are trust & cooperation In literature about coopetiton –KSF are cooperating & competing

The situation According to our knowledge, very few theorical and empirical studies in the sales field, Implementation of a sales coopetition strategy raises sales management questions

Representation of the concept of coopetition in the selling area BUYER Firm A Traditional Sales force Alliance Manager AAlliance Manager B Traditional Salesforce Firm B Sales Force ASales Force B  

Case 1 BUYER Firm A Traditional Sales force Alliance Manager A Alliance Manager B Traditional Salesforce Firm B Sales Force ASales Force B   How will cooperation between these two alliances mangers work?

BUYER Firm A Traditional Sales force Alliance Manager A Alliance Manager B Traditional Salesforce Firm B Sales Force ASales Force B   Case 2 How managing this special category of salespeople or alliance managers ?

BUYER Firm A Traditional Sales force Alliance Manager A Alliance Manager B Traditional Salesforce Firm B Sales Force ASales Force B   Case 3 How to manage a global sales force intra-firm ?

Research Question: case 1 ? how alliance managers, who are in charge of commercial and marketing alliances, manage to create joint commercial solutions with their competing partners and how they promote the solutions of their own companies to these particular partners

Methodology Four Cases Studies IT area 2 successes, 2 failures

Results Factors of Success –Joint solutions suit customers needs, – long term relationships, – reactivity Factors of Failure –lack of coopetition strategy at the firm level, –internal organization weaknesses, –lack of alliance management –personal dysfunctions, –change in the environment (legal, economic etc.)

Implications and Ways of research - The influence of customers on the type of sales (coopetition or not) -This type of relationships (coopetition) is more and more frequent, specially in B to B marketing but it is always difficult and complex. -There are a lot of failure because when the deals does not work the relationship is stopped and when the deal works it is always difficult to share the cake -The importance to get salespeople involved in that type of relationship LWT ?

Contribution Some existing literature about commercial alliances but Coopetition is a new theorical field and specific case of alliance Very few about sales management and coopetition

Limitations & Futur Researches External validity : study other situations Study the two other cases (2 &3) Other ways of data collection (network analysis, ethnographic methodology

Thank You Very Much !!