ARTICLE CRITIQUE:
Zineldin, Mosad(2004)”Co-opetition: the organisation of the future”
INTRODUCTION
In most business theories, competition is seen as one of the key force that keeps organisations innovative and lean. To be able to survive in a market, organisations have had to engage in competitive strategies. On the other hand, theorists have begun to realize that to also survive, organisation may be inclined to cooperate with their competitors. Thus, new theories of collaboration, networking, cooperating and sharing are beginning to be forecast and written on. One of the theories is of co-opetition. This article critiques, Zineldin's article on "Co-opetition: the organisation of the future" .
SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ARTICLE
In his article, Zineldin claims that the organisation of the future will have to collaborate and cooperate with its competitors. Zineldin states that companies need to consider the potential benefits of collaborating, cooperating and coordinating with their competitors. He terms this strategy as co-opetition. Thus, business strategies and activities should aim for the establishment of mutually beneficial partnership relationship with other actors in the organisation’s network, including their competitors.
The fundamental role for the organisation of the future will be to create and develop processes of strategic co-opetition that will enhance long-term relationships, retention and loyalty. Five main advantages for co-opetiton outlined are, sharing of knowledge, pooling of competencies, increased incentives to take risks and proactively in product development. For this co-opetition strategy to work there should be trust and commitment among players. Creating co-opetition has both a cost and value. For a ...