Co-Opetition : A Revolution Mindset That Combines Competition and Cooperation : The Game Theory Strategy That's Changing the Game of Business (Paperback)

~ Adam M. Brandenburger (Author), (Author) "Business is War..." (more)
Key Phrases: buying coalition, unhealthy imitation, complex pricing schemes, Value Net, Norfolk Southern, Holland Sweetener (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Losing and winning are two extremes by which businesses are often measured. Brandenburger (Harvard Business Sch.) and Nalebuff (Yale Sch. of Management) argue that most businesses and their transactions lie somewhere between the two poles. Their liberating message is that your competitor does not have to fail for you to win. Conversely, you don't have to fail either. Your failure, in fact, can hurt your competitor. It is better, the authors assert, to have both cooperation and competition. Game theory requires drawing a representation of one's customers, suppliers, competitors, and complementers. In this strategy of business as a game, the rules, players, tactics, and scope can be changed to the individual's advantage. The authors present complicated cases to illustrate their points. The writing is usually solid, but the authors went to the well too many times with some of their examples. A little variety in illustrating their ideas would have been welcome. Such minor shortcomings aside, this title is recommended for all academic libraries.?Randy L. Abbott, Univ. of Evansville Libs., Ind.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Management and organizational theorists are continually investigating new models to explain organizational behavior. Traditionally, competition has often been a component of those models, but now researchers are looking at other behaviors and using theories from other fields of study. James Moore recently proclaimed The Death of Competition (1996) and put forth a complex model based on natural ecosystems that emphasizes symbiotic, cooperative relationships. Now Brandenburger and Nalebuff, academics from the Harvard Business School and the Yale School of Management, respectively, also suggest that business strategy in today's global environment must combine competition and cooperation, but they employ mathematical game theory to make their argument. David Rouse --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Broadway Business; 1 edition (December 29, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385479506
• ISBN-13: 978-0385479509
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #34,774 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creating better strategies using game theory, March 11, 2003

By	L. Van Den Muyzenberg "Laurens van den Muyzen... (Cannes France) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking at the whole market to maximize your strategy, December 2, 1999

By	Lisa Spellman (Burbank, CA) - See all my reviews

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to Game Theory from a business perspective, August 14, 2003

By	Yannis Larios (Athens, Greece) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.