Exploring Coopetition in the Lowest Level of Bureaucracy: Competition and Cooperation in Indonesian Village Indexes

Abstract

Coopetition has become more influential in the development of organization theory due to the increasingly complex, dynamic, and interdependent relationships among organizations. This concept is paradoxical because it combines two opposites—competition and cooperation. This study aimed to explained how coopetition is used in public sector organizations, including institutional relations within inter and intra bureaucracy. This descriptive qualitative research employed interactive data analysis, including condensing and displaying collected data from which conclusion are drawn. In addition, triangulation was implemented for improving the validity of the study. This research found a rivalry between two Indonesian ministries that were in charge of village affairs. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) managed village government affairs, while the Ministry of Village Affairs (MOVA) controlled village development and community empowerment. This rivalry resulted in competition at both the national and village levels. Despite this competition, field administrators at the village level cooperated because government and development responsibilities could not be separated in street-level operations. Coopetition was practiced at the lowest level bureaucracy despite the competition at the highest level because of the interdependence of government and development processes. The practical implication of this study provides an opportunity for the government to design coopetition as a strategy to achieve government or development goals more effectively. Keywords: inter-ministerial competition; micro-level cooperation; public sector coopetition; village government; village index. ABSTRAK Kerjasama pesaing telah menjadi lebih berpengaruh dalam pembangunan teori organisasi disebabkan oleh hubungan yang semakin kompleks, dinamik dan saling bergantung antara organisasi. Konsep ini adalah paradoks kerana ia menggabungkan dua pertentangan—persaingan dan kerjasama. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan bagaimana kerjasama pesaing digunakan dalam organisasi sektor awam, termasuk hubungan institusi di antara dan di dalam birokrasi. Penyelidikan kualitatif deskriptif ini menggunakan analisis data interaktif, termasuk meringkaskan dan memaparkan data terkumpul dari mana kesimpulan dibuat. Selain itu, triangulasi telah dilaksanakan bagi meningkatkan kesahan kajian. Kajian ini mendapati terdapat persaingan di antara dua kementerian Indonesia yang bertanggungjawab dalam hal ehwal kampung. Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) menguruskan hal ehwal kerajaan kampung, manakala Kementerian Hal Ehwal Kampung (MOVA) mengawal pembangunan kampung dan pemerkasaan masyarakat. Persaingan ini mengakibatkan persaingan di peringkat kebangsaan dan kampung. Di sebalik persaingan ini, pentadbir lapangan di peringkat kampung memberi kerjasama kerana tanggungjawab kerajaan dan pembangunan tidak dapat dipisahkan dalam operasi peringkat bawahan. Kerjasama pesaing diamalkan di peringkat rendah birokrasi walaupun terdapat persaingan di peringkat tertinggi kerana saling kebergantungan di antara proses kerajaan dan pembangunan. Implikasi praktikal kajian ini memberi peluang kepada kerajaan untuk merangka kerjasam pesaing sebagai strategi untuk mencapai matlamat kerajaan atau pembangunan dengan lebih berkesan. Kata kunci: Persaingan antara kementerian; kerjasama peringkat mikro; kerjasama sektor awam; kerajaan kampung; indeks kampung.

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