The acknowledgement that a network of cooperating companies, e.g. a
supply chain, could be more successful in achieving competitive
advantage than individual businesses, constitutes one of the most
significant paradigm shifts in modern business management as it leaves
behind the notion of adversarial companies engaged in fierce competition
with one another in order to gain a competitive advantage. The "Survival
of the Fittest" in what has been called "The Era of Network Competition"
depends on how well companies are able to structure, coordinate, and
manage relationships with their business partners. In their search for
the best possible place under the sun, companies have redefined their
understanding of cooperation and have not only improved the efficiency
of cooperation with partners (e.g. suppliers, customers, and
complementors) but also discovered the existence of synergies with
competitors. The apparently paradoxical situation of cooperating with
competitors (or it might be thought of as competing with cooperating
partners) shows that collaboration is a widespread approach at all
levels of strategic management. In light of these thoughts, the question
arises why there are still companies that neither cooperate with
business partners nor with competitors; although it seems obvious that
this could be advantageous. This work attempts to offer an answer to
this question.