Can Competitive Strategy and Open Business Strategy Coexist?

Abstract

Traditional business models, driven by resource management and control, are under threat. There have been calls for increased corporate social responsibility, in addition to demands for improved and more transparent governance models. In addition, some argue that traditional resource control methods, such as patent acquisition and copyright enforcement, are ill-equipped to handle modern consumers and commercial relationships. Some have argued that business models based more on open strategy might address some of these problems. However, these open business models, largely enabled by the Internet and heightened ICT use, may be incompatible with contemporary competitive strategy theory and further research of the phenomenon is needed. This paper discusses the ways in which contemporary strategic theory might be threatened, and the ways in which an open strategy model could address these problems. The paper uses several case studies to illustrate this argument. The paper also conducts a literature search of the requirements for an open business model in a networked context. Show more