Chapter Five: Improve Interfirm Cooperation
Summary from book page 91-92

The three stories recounted in this chapter -- soy, fruit juice, and alpaca -- are actually the same story in one sense: they demonstrate that a company's competitiveness often depends heavily on the competitiveness of other firms and institutions in the same industry. That interdependence can be a source of weakness or strength, depending on the collective competitiveness of an industry cluster. When thinking about implementing a sound strategy, companies must explicitly understand where their strategies are vulnerable to the actions of suppliers and buyers, and ensure that the chains of companies behind a product are all working together. Without strong related and supporting industries, achieving sustainable competitive advantage in the developing world will be much more difficult than it should be. In the past, it may have made sense not to cooperate, but in the increasingly competitive global economy, firms must seize the opportunity to create the conditions where buyers and suppliers no longer insist "Es la culpa de la vaca."

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