Peer innovation as an open innovation strategy for balancing competition and collaboration among technology start-ups in an innovation ecosystem

Start-ups,assmall,newcompanies,sufferfromliabilitiesofsizeandlackofexperiencewhenenteringmar-ketcompetition.Researchhassuggestedthatrelationshipswithotherorganisationsmightbeasolutiontobalancesuchliabilities.Whileseveralstudiesunderlinetheimportanceofrelationshipsbetweenstart-upsandlargeorganisationswithinanInnovationecosystem,fewstillanalysetherelevanceofcoopetitiverela-tionshipsamongstart-ups.Coopetitiverelationshipsdescribe“hybridactivity”ofsimultaneouscooperationandcompetitionamongfirmswhilefocusingonvaluecreationwithinaninnovationecosystem.Movingfromacasestudyreview,weanalysehowstart-upsmanagethebalancebetweencooperationandcompeti-tionamongpeerswhenbelongingtoaninnovationecosystem.Wecallthispeerinnovation.Ourfindingspro-poseaframeworkforevidenceaboutinnovativestart-ups’primarymotivations,managerialmechanisms,andpeerinnovationstrategypractices.Implicationsfortheorydefineanovelparadigmthatstart-upsestab-lishtocooperateandcompeteatthesametimewhilebeingpartofanincubator.