Coopetition and Knowledge Sharing among Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Over recent decades, management research has increasingly examined how organisations respond to uncertainty and rapid environmental change. One approach that has attracted sustained attention is coopetition, defined as an inter-organisational relationship in which firms simultaneously compete and cooperate. This is particularly significant for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which often operate with limited resources and therefore rely on relational strategies to remain adaptable. However, because cooperation and competition overlap in practice, coopetition is inherently tense and can increase concerns about opportunism, knowledge leakage, and vulnerability. Within this framing, knowledge sharing is a central set of practices through which the cooperative dimension of coopetition can generate value, yet it is typically conditional and bounded. Building on this context, this thesis investigates how SME hotels in Saudi Arabia manage inter-organisational coopetition and knowledge sharing within the tourism industry, while accounting for the broader cultural and institutional environment shaped by Vision 2030 reforms. While previous studies have primarily focused on large firms in Western economies, particularly in manufacturing and technology-intensive industries, there remains a limited understanding of how coopetition and knowledge-sharing practices unfold in SMEs where collaboration is more informal, reactive, and embedded in everyday routines, especially under rapid institutional change. The Saudi setting is not treated as a contribution in itself. Instead, it provides an analytically relevant environment in which seasonality, regulatory change, intensified competition, and increasing reliance on digital systems make the tensions of coopetition especially visible.

The study applies Third-Generation Activity Theory (3GAT) as an analytical framework to examine multi-voiced interactions and contradictions shaping inter-organisational practices. A qualitative, interpretivist approach was employed, combining semi-structured interviews with 27 owners and senior managers from 12 SME hotels across Makkah, Madinah, and Jeddah, alongside non-participant observations and document analysis of Vision 2030 initiatives and relevant government platforms. Reflexive thematic analysis guided the coding and interpretation of the dataset. The findings indicate that coopetition among Saudi SME hotels is mainly informal, unstructured and situational, emerging as a practical response to seasonal demand fluctuations and reform-driven pressures rather than a deliberate, long-term strategy, with knowledge sharing remaining selective and carefully managed amid competitive exposure.