Collaborate and compete

Collaborate and compete are forces operating in opposite directions. However they need to be considered and adopted if you want to succeed. For example many companies collaborate to create common platforms and technologies. They also go and address the same market space in that sense they compete. For example Sony and Philips make TVs. They collaborate to make possible common and non-differentiating parts of the TV system. In the market place they compete by bring in the differences in terms of new features as added value on top of the common part they develop together. In this sense knowledge management happens at two levels on at the technology level which is across the companies that has collaborated and other within the company to make the differentiator. Collaborate and compete is something that when done well can provide the competitive lead to the collaborators from rest of the companies. The underlying philosophy has been why try to do everything on your own.