Co-opetition

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Summary The authors identify five basic elements of game theory:

• Players
• Added values
• Rules
• Tactics
• Scope

The main claim of the book is that the traditional metaphore of 'war' for businesses may be wrong. Companies are

• Complementors in creating markets
• Competitors in dividing up markets

Furthermore there are both win-win and win-lose elements in relationships with:

• Customers
• Suppliers
• Complementors
• Competitors

Depending on the situation (or 'game') the tradional black and white boundaries turn out to be 'grey'. Your customer can be friend or foe, depending on how well he is able to negotiate a good price. Your competitor may create markets for which you would not have the bandwith yourselve. A friendly supplier may turn out to become a competitor. One of the best examples in the book which has multiple applications for illustrating how easily purchasing power can shift is Adam's Card Game. The game illustrates what each player's contribution or Added Value is.