Collaboration and Game Theory

The most crucial element in a collaboration is to ensure that interests are adequately aligned.
In the competitive environment that we are in today coupled with the phenomenal emergence of micro-markets and -businesses, the challenges and opportunities cannot get any better than what we are experiencing now. Just take a look at the airline industry in Asia where budget airlines flying to destinations within a 2 to 3 hour range taking head-on their bigger and better capitalised brethrens. These budget operators are making waves taking away micro-markets away from the larger operators. What we are experiencing is a new form of competitive strategy leveraging off value and innovation. With India and China growing at robust clips, and an uplifting experience for that matter, it is said that for every flight done by Kingfisher Airlines of India, about 30 to 40% of the passengers flown first time. Now the population of India is 1.1 billion - think of the uncontested marketplace and the possibilities. It is no wonder that Airbus is trying to sell their 800 seat capacity aircraft to these budget airlines.

We have completed the first step of getting the collaborators on board, and ensuring that we have adequately articulated and communicated the common vision. The collaborators are in for it with interests nicely aligned through two sets of affirmative undertaking.

It remains to be seen how the collaborators can leverage on their differing and yet complimentary skills to execute the vision.

To be ACE entrepreneurs, the clue lies in the ability to defer any form of instant gratification and to work towards the interest of the group so that optimal payout can be achieved.

Keywords: ACE, game theory, Prisoner's Dilemma