The Effectiveness of Information Technology in Co-opetition Strategy

Co-opetition is a strategy in which an organization both cooperates with and fights against its competitors. By conditionally cooperating with other organizations, each organization seeks to attain a "win-win" situation. One form of co-opetition is knowledge sharing, which has been identified by researchers as a desirable part of the business culture. Knowledge sharing is favorable for the individual organization's business. The application of the information technology is recommended over a more extended period. To engage in knowledge sharing, organizations must have people willing to participate in it. The challenge questions whether applying the business strategy of "co-opetition" to knowledge sharing is workable. This case study examines a global financial organization's initiative to promote the sharing of knowledge that originates among the Asia HR Operations Team with ten local Asian offices. The research investigates and explores the application of the co-opetition strategy to knowledge sharing in a Human Resources operations environment using the tools of information systems.