Patrice Cooper

My doctoral research intersects the literatures of leadership, knowledge and learning. My research involves an in-depth exploration of how 'leaders' learn. It supports an alternative view of learning as a social or situated practice, with knowledge growing out of the interplay between interpersonal relationships and every day 'sense-making' activities. In studying the critical events and relationships (economic and non-economic) that influence what and how leaders know, it adopts a biographical approach that draws on the lived experiences of leaders. Within the field of strategic management, (my core teaching area), I am currently interested in developing an understanding of the nature of non-conventional strategic behaviours such as the merging of competitive and co-operative approaches in the form of 'coopetition'. In particular I am interested in the critical issues related to the management of coopetition and the types of learning that organisations experience under coopetition? I am also interested in the strategic concerns of organisations operating within the so-called third sector or the social economy.