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Sammanfattning: ABSTRACT Title: Do competing farmers benefit from cooperation? Seminar date: 2020-01-17 Course: FEKH19, Business Administration: Bachelor Degree Project in Strategic Management Undergraduate Level. Authors: Denis Larsson, Lovisa Niilekselä, Ida Sundström and Ellen Traung Advisor: Magnus Johansson. Keywords: Cooperation, Competition, Agriculture, members, Co-opetition and cooperatives. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to examine whether cooperation between competing players in the agricultural sector can result in cost benefits and competitiveness. This thesis intends to examine how the cooperatives in the agriculture sector operate, as well as advantages and disadvantages with the cooperation. Furthermore, to propose future possibilities for improvement. Methodology: A qualitative single case study including seven interviews was conducted using an abductive approach. The abductive approach starts by using a deductive method where inductive elements are continuously added as the authors obtain new theoretical insights from earlier studies supplementing the empirical foundations. Theoretical perspective: The theoretical framework used in this thesis is Co-opetition. The concept of Co-opetition explains that competitors working together can benefit both as individual companies but also that the industry itself can benefit from their cooperation. The introduction of the theory section defines the concept Co-opetition and later on presents previous studies of Co-opetition in the agricultural sector. Empirical foundation: This single case study examines Äppelriket Österlen and its members. Äppelriket Österlen is an economic association which consists of 94 competing members who together cooperate in the Swedish apple industry. The membership enables economic and practical benefits, as well as some drawbacks for the members, which in turn affects the Swedish apple industry as a whole. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that companies in the agricultural sector can obtain cost benefits, knowledge sharing, as well as higher prices, through cooperation with other companies in the same industry. The relationship between the producers has proved to be a cooperative-dominated relationship but an intermediary, in this case an advisor, is needed for better communication between the cultivators and between the cultivators and Äppelriket Österlen. The intermediary might help to prevent conflicts as well as to reduce opportunistic behaviors.