Synergy effect of microbrewery cooperation

The thesis examines four selected microbreweries from the perspective of cooperation and co-opetition. The aim of the thesis is to analyse the respondent's experiences with mutual cooperation and to reveal whether synergy effects occur or how to promote them. The data for the application part was obtained through semi-structured interviews with representatives of microbreweries and complemented by a follow-up focus group. The data was processed using the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis, which allowed for a deeper understanding of the lived experience of the respondents. Based on the analysis, the main motivating factors were identified, with external circumstances and customer awareness being the most strongly represented, as well as the benefits and barriers to entering into collaboration, which include capacity and coordination. It was found that the cooperation for specific microbreweries is in its embryonic stage and synergies can be partially observed, but the full potential is not exploited. The output of the thesis is specific recommendations for microbreweries to exploit the potential of the co-opetition relationship to create synergies - co-ordination of co-opetition, development of a strategic plan using existing capacity and identification of competitive advantage and setting rules for co-opetition. A long-term strategic outlook is currently mostly lacking for microbreweries. The research results can serve as a basis for establishing stable co-opetition relationships for specific respondents.