Co-opetition

When a business strategy is so new in design, a new word must be coined to capture its value. Such is the case with co-opetition, a method that goes beyond the old rules of competition and cooperation to combine the advantages of both. Co-opetition is a pioneering, high-profit means of leveraging business relationships.

The Harvard Business School's Adam M. Brandenburger and the Yale School of Management's Barry J. Nalebuff, scholars and consultants, have developed a five-part business strategy that shows how to do more than play the game of business. It shows how you can change the game of business for maximum benefit. Though often compared to games like chess and poker, business is different. To win at chess or poker, someone has to lose. In business, long-term profitability doesn't require others to fail. And in business, people are free to change the rules, the players, the boundaries, the game itself. Intel, Nintendo, American Express, NutraSweet, American Airlines and dozens of other companies have been using the strategies of co-opetition not only to win but to make it possible for their industry as a whole to grow. By telling stories of these companies, and formulating strategies based on the science of game theory, Brandenburger and Nalebuff have created a book that's insightful and instructive for managers eager to move their companies into a new mindset.