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To remain competitive, business organizations today must possess an array of skills and competencies. It is therefore imperative that they are able to access key tangible and intangible resources.
But in this regard, many companies are not sufficiently equipped to go it alone. They instead often choose to join forces with different players to acquire the strategic resources needed. A diverse mix of partners can be involved and include stakeholders like customers, suppliers and competitors. Individual firms that liaise in this way are thus able to widen their horizons in the quest to attain new knowledge and skills.
This illustrates why commentators now view organizations in broader terms. They are increasingly seen as belonging to a business ecosystem, not just members of a particular industry. Their association with cooperatives, universities, governments and various other bodies further cements this belief.
Co-creating to increase the value proposition
Such collective endeavor has led to growing emphasis on co-creation becoming more preferable. Without doubt, this represents a major step forward. Firms operating in isolation are restricted to capabilities accessible within the confines of the organization. In contrast, evidence shows that collaborating with customers and various other stakeholders enables:
access to specialist knowledge, information and expertise that different players can bring to the table;
significant increase in the amount of value that can be created; and
business ecosystem sustainability to be strengthened.
However, value co-creation obviously demands openness and trust between different partners in order for collaboration to generate opportunities and prove mutually beneficial.
The above sentiments are epitomized in Brazil’s agricultural sector, where innovation is seen as fundamental to making production more efficient. Ecological benefits and advances in animal welfare are testimony to its impact.
Innovation is challenging at the best of times. In this context, it can be even more daunting. For a start, collaboration is often difficult due to the geographical...