Co-opetition (book)

Co-opetition: A Revolution Mindset that Combines Competition and Cooperation is a non-fiction book on coopetition (co-operative competition), business strategy, and game theory by Adam M. Brandenburger and Barry J. Nalebuff. The book was initially published by Crown Business on May 1, 1996. As of 2015, the book is still available in its 9th printing.

Overview
Coopetition or co-opetition is a neologism coined to describe the concept of cooperation between competitors. Coopetition is a portmanteau of cooperation and competition.

The text discusses at length the notion of coopetition, a business strategy gained from game theory to demonstrate when it is better for competitors to work together rather than to go up against one another in contest. The authors use many examples to show the simultaneous interplay between competition and cooperation. Their research added to previous industry analysis such as Michael Porter’s five forces model, which focused almost entirely on competition between businesses.

Review
"At one time or another, everyone wants life to be more rational and scientific. Then we wouldn't have to spend so much late-night time on the phone with friends, playing out scenarios of the possibilities life offers. Corporate executives aren't exempt from this desire. They too spin scenarios, of the bottom-line variety. This must have been the audience Adam M. Brandenburger and Barry J. Nalebuff had in mind when they wrote Co-opetition, a book about "the game theory strategy that's changing the game of business," as they put it. Mr. Brandenburger, a Harvard Business School professor, and Mr. Nalebuff, who teaches at the Yale School of Management, believe businesses can become more competitive by cooperating, hence the neologism "co-opetition." ... The authors never really make clear what distinguishes game theory from good business sense. Decision-making is looking upside, downside, matching advantage against disadvantage, marrying a weakness to a strength and occasionally doing something "counterintuitive" that actually makes complete sense in context. Since the book is full of good stories, it's hard not to recommend it, but readers looking for science are likely to be disappointed."

—Review by Strategy+Business