Does multimarket contact lead to mutual forbearance? The influence of the coopetition network of maritime and port companies Online publication date: Tue, 29-Sep-2015
by Yu-Ching Chiao; Chun-Ju Huang; Shu-Mei Hsu
International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics (IJSTL), Vol. 7, No. 5, 2015
Abstract: We investigate how multimarket contact (MMC), as well as two contingency factors, namely, cooperation and competition networks, affects the competitive aggressiveness of a focal firm. A sample of the top 21 maritime and port multinational enterprises was examined by collecting 1,506 news items from 3,502 news articles of the Cyber Shipping Guide from 2007 to 2009. The empirical findings show that: 1) a higher MMC between a focal firm and its competitors results in a higher competitive aggressiveness of the focal firm; 2) a higher degree of centrality of cooperation and inward centrality of competition moderate the relationship between MMC and the competitive aggressiveness of the focal firm; 3) a greater competitive aggressiveness results in better performance. This study integrates competition and cooperation among firms, provides the method by which firms adjust their strategies, and brings new insights into such a coopetition industry, that is, the maritime and port industry.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics (IJSTL):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook