Co-opetition for the Diffusion of Resistant Innovations: A Case Study in the Global Wine Industry using an Agent-based Model

摘要

This study explores whether and how competitive cooperation, also known as co-opetition, can be utilized to speed the rate of diffusion of resistant innovations, which are defined as products that consumers are reluctant to adopt. We investigate a specific innovation, screwcaps on fine wines, as a case study. We explore the extent to which wineries embrace co-opetition strategies through a coordinated marketing campaign. We model both demand-side and supply-side diffusion within the context of a conjoint simulation. In this ABM simulation, each agent is modeled as either a utility-maximizing (consumers) or profit-maximizing (firms) agent. Both consumers and firms interact, share information, and/or react to decisions by other agents. The underlying data consist of international surveys of over 2,800 consumers, including conjoint analyses, in Australia, New Zealand, and the US coupled with over 20 in-depth interviews of wine producers in the US. In particular, we endow a sample of consumers with preferences based on the conjoint analyses and allow them to interact with one another and with wine producers. Wine producers are rational profit-maximizing agents who decide whether or not to produce wines with Stelvins based on the amount they can sell at (endogenously) chosen characteristics, price, and advertising levels. Because profits and sales depend upon the industry structure and consumer choices, we are able to examine the sensitivity of diffusion to such structures.