Businesses Becoming More Successful with Co-opetition!

The economy is bad, although politicians spout words of encouragement and say that business is getting better, most people know that it is just an empty statement made with the intention of taking the fear away from businesses and consumers so that money starts to flow more.

It seems that the days of companies having monopolies and profiting at the expense of others is near its end. Consumers are now driving the market. They are tired of products that break, limited warranties and marked up junk. They now have a voice.

Businesses are tightening their spending, cutting costs and even employees just to survive this economy. During this same type of economy in the depression years, things were simpler in some ways. Business practices didn't thrive on taking advantage of the customer but they served the customer and filled needs. There were still major companies but most businesses were in some sort of cooperation with each other and worked with each other in cooperation to survive. Competitive business has been so rampant in recent years that many businesses won't work with each other at all for fear that they might lose a few dollars where they may intersect. It seems as if we have turned into a competitive cutthroat world. Neighbors and everyday people used to pitch in and help each other when there was a need but that hasn't been the case lately. Many businesses and people in general are now growing afraid that crime will take over due to the fight for a dollar to survive.

The fate of our future is in our hands and it seems to have the potential to change for the better! There has been news of a new business model for small businesses and even some larger corporations are learning its benefits. They have coined the model Co-opetition. The term describes a process where a business cooperates with their competitor to

This idea was published in a book called Co-Opetition : A Revolution Mindset That Combines Competition and Cooperation : The Game Theory Strategy That's Changing the Game of Business written by Adam Bradenburger, a Harvard business professor and Barry Nalebuff a Yale professor. They spoke of the fact that many businesses act like it is a war against each other, and in order to win, someone has to lose. But there are other businesses that see business as teams and partnerships, and that good business is both cooperation and competition and the use the word co-opetition.

This business model would benefit everyone and in times like these when the competition is so stiff, for the few dollars available. It is a means to survive. Cooperating with other businesses can not only improve relations but can send more business your way, even if you have similar products to sell. For instance when one is out of an item and they send a customer to another business, the customer is happy and it may happen in return, as a relationship develops and it becomes more of a team. It is not all small businesses either, even Microsoft and Apple have been using this method of working together but still staying competitive.

Businesses can also gain when they work with people on the outside too. They could pay customers fees or offer discounts to team up with them and bring them business. Bartering is on the rise too. When money is scarce, bartering becomes another option. Businesses could offer to pay customers for helping them to get business through internet networking, advertizing, links, etc. There seems to be something good that can come out of this. When the norm no longer works, or something changes drastically. Things go into a crazy chaos for a while, much like disturbing a rotating mobile, after a while things start to find a new rhythm and pattern and it all starts to work together again. Businesses definitely need to make major permanent changes now to survive. And what seems so bleak and scary could be the best thing that has ever happened to us all.

Sources:

http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-209388.html

http://mayet.som.yale.edu/coopetition/

Co-Opetition : A Revolution Mindset That Combines Competition and Cooperation : The Game Theory Strategy That's Changing the Game of Business By Adam Brandenburger and Barry Nalebuff.