Customer Reviews

Co-opetition by Nalebuff, Barry J.; Brandenburger, Adam M.

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Just out of college I was very enthusiastic to use game theory to solve business problems. But never found a way to use it. That was forty years ago. This is the first book that transforms a wonderful theory into something you can apply. The three key concepts are the "value net", PARTS and role-playing. The value net is a simple model of the players to consider. Not just your business and your client, but also the competitors, suppliers and complementors (a complimentor adds value to your product like mustard to hot dogs). PARTS are five ways to look at the game. P from players-who are they; may be add new ones, A from Added Value- how much value do you add to the game, if any, R from Rules-can the rules be changed, T from tactics, and S from Scope- making the game bigger. With role-playing I refer to putting yourself in the shoes of all the other players. How do they see the game? The book contains many practical examples. Some of these do not require game theory to think of them but without game theory you would never see all the interesting options. The book also has "spiritual" content. It shows how to find "win-win" theories and avoid price wars that are "lose-lose".Very worthwhile.

First of all I should state that this book is the kind that will make you ask yourself "Why have I not read it before?"! I strongly recommend it and shortly I will try to explain whom I recommend it and why.

In fact, we are not talking about some recent business book, and therefore the potential reader should not expect to see very recent cases as support to arguments discussed. But still, the issues are very systematically, clearly and simply explained, although the examples that are used to support the arguments are "old".

I met this "potential classic business book" (or maybe already a "classic business book") as I began to be interested in game theory. Therefore I can easily declare that "Co-opetition" is very appropriate for a person who would like to see solid, practical and especially business-oriented application areas of game theory. With this book, a "101 game theorist" can try and improve herself easily. But on the other hand, this doesn't mean that the only target readers of the book are the ones that are interested in game theory. The authors have achieved to develop and illustrate practical recommendations for business world by utilizing game theory concepts. So anyone who is business life will benefit from the concepts for sure.

The language and the methods of explanation are very clear, far from being complicated and straightforward. The authors have supported all the major concepts and conclusions by using real-life examples. This way, the reader has more "reasons" to learn and remember the arguments discussed throughout the book. The logical order and the simple modular approach used to lead the discussions also help the reader understand everything explained easily. Although the book is in fact a "strategy book", the reader does not have to be someone with background information on strategy. But still, if the reader already has some background in strategic analysis, then the book offers a much more beneficial and enjoyable read. On top of everything, the nice but "not-so-difficult-to-handle complexity" of game theory itself is the real pleasure of the book.

I recommend this book to college students who are to enter business life shortly, to people with active roles in strategic decision making processes of their corporations and to people who are interested in game theory but who don't want to cope with the mathematical models of it. Have a nice read...

Co-Opetition by Adam M. Brandenburger and Barry J. Nalebuff focuses on using competition to create a bigger market for the industry and for the individual company. It is an interesting approach to building win-win growth opportunities. The PARTS concept is an easy to remember idea that has been successful in several sited examples. Co-opetition discusses viable ideas that should be considered, particularly the "Pay me to play" suggestion. If the strategist carefully considers all options in the "big picture", they would undoubtedly use one or several of the ideas presented in this book. This book serves as a reminder manual when developing strategy.

The book provides a well-structured approach to Game Theory from the business perspective. The focus is placed on using Game Theory for developing successful strategies for businesses, excluding its mathematical aspects.

The whole book is so well-written, that most readers are barely aware of how deeply it is grounded in co-operative game theory.
It is full of real-world case studies, which further enhance its readability.

However, a star is deducted for a rather "quick" conclusion of the theory (and the book itself), which actually pays little favour to the "S" (Scope) parameter of the PARTS theory presented.

Also, frequently the reader gets the feeling that this is a book which presents case-studies and upon them builds a theory, although the opposite might have been more appropriate.

In any case, this is a book worth considering if you wish to examine how Game Theory might influence your business strategy.

I was given this book to read by a Professor when i was doing a Masters Program, upon asking him that i want to know and read a little about Game Theory. Well i liked this book so much that i went online and a bought a copy of my own.

Although, this book was first published in 1996 and for what i reason that i am unable to comprehend is not available with all that ease in book stores. But it was an easy find on Amazon.Com.

This book is ideal for someone like me who saw the movie " A beautiful Mind" and was intrigued by what the main character was doing in the first half of the movie, when he uses Game Theory to come out with a result as to how they can all win without anyone actually losing.

What this book does for a student of Business is, it tells you with Umpteen real world examples; how to make use of game theory in business.

Their easy explanation of and the coining of the term 'The Value Net' is a prime example of what they have done in this book.

All in All, a very good read for everyone, I would highly recommend it to anyone, simply because it is easy to understand and tackles a complicated subject with ease.

This book applies game theory on business and does so extremely well. I think game theory is clearly the way to approach the subject of strategy, because regular "corporate" and "business" strategy literature seems only loosely connected to actual strategic thinking. Game theory, on the other hand, is an actual theory for thinking strategically. No-one should probably even refer to himself or herself as a strategist without being literate in game theory.

The authors do a wonderful job laying out the principles. They introduce and give a thorough treatment of the concept of complementarity ("making the pie grow"), which is bound to make you a better strategist. What I also liked in this book is the notion that the best way of increasing profits is often not to play the game well but to actually change how the game is played. Reading about this really gives your mind a jump-start.

PARTS refers to the strategic levers of a game, that is the dimensions across which the game of business can be analyzed and changed (to your advantage of course). The book is filled with case studies where the principles can be seen at work. Co-opetition is simply great value for money.

If, after reading this book, you feel like digging further into game theory (there's a good chance you will) I recommend Games of Strategy by Dixit, which is a superb introductory book.

The book's objective - "to paint a more complete picture of business relationships"

What the book tells you: The "players" in a business environment and how each of them interacts with you. How to apply the basic elements of any game - Players, Added Value, Rules, Tactics and Scope (PARTS) to your advantage, using the concept of game theory. In this respect, the authors have met their objective by way of using their model to explain real world examples. In making strategic moves, the authors believe that the best strategy may have multiple winners by making the pie bigger.

What the books does not tell you: the game theory itself. The book does not touch on the theoretical aspect of the game. Hence I was disappointed not being able to learn how to create my own game modeling or use simple mathematics to map out my own, and more dynamic, game.

The bottom line: an easy-to-read book to understand the mindset of all players in a game and how to make a strategic move that is beneficial to you.

Co-opetition presents a refreshing & practical showcase of game theory. The book is concisely written with good case studies. Although the book lacks mathematical detail of game theory, it manages to vividly illustrate how game theory concepts can be applied in the dynamic business world.

I've read this book when I was pursuing my MBA and I am reading it again as a businessman and founder of a new strategy company - its simply superb. It completely changes the way you look at your competition. Read the PARTS of strategy and not only sharpen your thinking but also revolutionise it.

Again, I don't just do book reviews of new books. I do reviews of new books, and older books that I think are significant. One strategic management book that has helped me is Co-opetition. Co-opetition is the use of both co-operation and competition in an effort to better your business.

Similar to Michael Porter's Five Forces framework, Co-opetition aims to describe a business or industry as part of a broader system, and design business strategy through competition and alliances with other economic actors that affect your business.

That broader system is called the "value net," and is composed of the firm in question, their customers, suppliers, competitors, and complementors. Complementor was a term they created to describe those parties who produce products or services that help make your customers more likely to buy from you. As the book describes it, think of hot dogs and mustard.

When I was a bond manager, I intuitively understood co-opetition. Most managers/traders played the game very sharply, and argued for every basis point. I realized that I had to be careful, and show that I was no pushover, but I found a variety of co-operative strategies that got my brokers working for me, not against me.

1) Helping them out when they were short a bond. I did not sell my bonds to them cheaply, but I did not gouge their eyes out (a technical bond market term) either. They were grateful to me, and Wall Street does have its own brand of loyalty. It protects friends.

2) I let brokers know what I was up to in general, while reserving discretion. I was more open than other managers, realizing that it would be hard to imitate what I was doing, and no one broker had the full picture. I let brokers truly know what my motives were for selling a bond, whether it was relative value, or needing to raise cash.

3) My brokers knew that my word was my bond. I did not break trades. When I uttered the word "done" it did not change.

4) My brokers knew that I would give them frank feedback. If they were way out of kilter with the market, I would give them one chance to change their position after I told them what I knew.

5) I would show "love" on occasions when they had badly mis-bid for my bonds. I would give them back one-third of the difference between their bid and the second place bid.

That's my main example from my own life. When a large part of my competitors viewed brokers as their competitors, I viewed them more as suppliers, and tried to find ways to work with them, and not against them.

I also found ways when working in the Pension Division of Provident Mutual, to use our small size and flexibility as an advantage versus our larger rivals. Understanding the competitive landscape was a real advantage, particularly in finding those that could aid us -- where there would be mutual benefit.

I could write at length over the individual strategies in the book. They are all significant, though only a subset applies at any given time. The book gives a good strategic manager tools, and he has to decide which are relevant to his situation.