This document discusses the concept of co-opetition, where firms simultaneously compete and cooperate. It describes how firms and organizations define their boundaries based on antagonistic, cooperative, or neutral relations with others. It also discusses how co-opetition can create situations of adverse selection and asymmetric information as firms try to compete and cooperate for the same market space. The document explores how concepts from ecology and ethology can help understand co-opetition, and suggests that co-opetition creates an environment of "adverse learning" for organizations.

1. Philippe Baumard Professor, Ecole Polytechnique CRG & UC Berkeley Institute of Business and Economic Research [email_address] Sixth Interdisciplinary Symposium on Knowledge and Space Sept. 17-20, 2008 Villa Bosch Studio, Heidelberg