Collaborative Field Building Under Coopetition: Institutional Work in Regional Transition Governance

Academy of Management Proceedings, vol. 2026

Abstract

Tackling complex public problems requires collaboration among heterogeneous actors that extends beyond mere policy implementation. Drawing on an inductive longitudinal single-case study (55 interviews, extensive observations) of Germany’s most heavily publicly funded transformation region, we show that actors collectively shape the “rules of the game” for their shared endeavor – shared definitions of the problem, agreed participation rules, workable decision interfaces, and resource arrangements that make joint action possible. Yet such collaborations rarely involve cooperation alone; actors also compete for funding, authority, and recognition, creating tensions of coopetition. We examine how these cooperative and competitive dynamics interact over time. We find that the collaboration advances through phase-linked, workable agreements that progressively make the emerging institutional field governable while shifting who has voice and access across three arenas: meaning, authority, and resources. These agreements help stabilize coordination without full consensus, but they become contested as they begin to shape who benefits and who leads.

Authors 1

1. Christoph Richard Felix Nasgowitz corresponding Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University