A solution to knowledge management in information-based services based on coopetition. a case study concerning work market services

Abstract

We are investigating how coopetition (Co-opetition, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1996; EURAM, Second Annual Conference - Innovative Research in Management, Stockholm, 9-11 May 2002) can improve information-based services by fostering knowledge sharing while safeguarding both competitive interests and business objectives of the involved actors. We explore the issues related to the development and to the governance of a coopetitive scenario. Furthermore, we explore the network forms of organization for modelling large coopetitive settings. In this paper we present a case study concerning the job marketplace intermediation services, namely the Borsa Lavoro project (http://www. borsalavorolombardia.net, 2004), whose goal is to create a job e-marketplace in the Italian Lombardy region. The analysis of the Borsa Lavoro achievements and results provides useful insights about issues arising in a coopetitive setting. We interpret such results according to the coopetitive model and according to the network form of organizations theory. © 2008 Physica-Verlag Heidelberg.