Competition – a process in which market entities compete with each other in concluding market transactions by presenting better market offers than other entities to realize their interests.
Cooperation with competition? At first glance, it looks like a bad joke. But such a cooperation is not only feasible, but also very profitable. Cooperation with competitors will help build a better company image, i.e. the most important thing is to increase the number of recipients so that as many people as possible learn about our company.
There are quite a few forms of cooperation with other companies. One of the most effective ones is the mutual recommendation of companies. This method works well both in cooperation between companies from various industries and in cooperation of companies from the same industry.
Industry organizations and associations are another form of collaboration between companies. This can be beneficial due to the fact that affiliated companies can implement joint initiatives for a given industry or fight to enact a law more favourable to that industry. Members have also the opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge in this field.
The more organized form of cooperation between competitors is coopetition, i.e. simultaneous cooperation and competition between competitors. It consists in the fact that competing companies cooperate with each other, and share their resources with each other to some extent. Philips and Zelmer are perfect examples, they are competitors, but at the same time they cooperate in the manufacture of meat grinders.
Another form of cooperation between competing companies are the industrial clusters, i.e. a geographical concentration of companies from the same or similar industries.
Cooperation with business competitors can bring real benefits to the company. So, it’s worth thinking about the future of your own company, and for the greater security of all cooperating companies, sign an agreement that will specify the detailed rules for cooperation and its duration.