ABSTRACT
Most of us think of a game as an activity involving two or more players engaged in a recreational parlor activity, such as chess or gin rummy, or a sporting event, such as football or baseball. The objective is to win the game because, as the saying goes, “to the winner go the spoils.” Sometimes the spoils are little more than “bragging rights,” often symbolized by a memento of some sort, such as a trophy, ring, blue ribbon, or medallion. Sometimes the spoils are monetary in nature, such as winning the pot in a game of poker. Sometimes the winner is rewarded with both cash and trinkets. For example, the owner of the winning team in the Super Bowl is presented with the sterling silver Vince Lombardi Trophy, and each player receives cash and a gold and diamond ring. After winning Super Bowl XXXVIII, for example, each member of the New England Patriots received $68,000, while each player for the losing Carolina Panthers received $36,500. In business, we tend to think of the winning “team” as the fi rm earning the biggest profi ts, or capturing the largest market share, or achieving some other desirable objective more successfully than its rivals. However, unlike football games, in which the rivals are fi erce competitors, it is often in companies’ best interest to cooperate in order to achieve a mutually advantageous outcome.
