Collaboration analysis for SME networks
Abstract
This chapter presents two complementary points of view on collaboration analysis, applied to SME networks. The overall objective is to help managers in detecting interesting collaboration opportunities. The analysis is made further more complex because the source of data is by necessity, indirect (it is not possible to ask the enterprises if they actually cooperate or only fake cooperation). Despite the difficulty, many techniques were found to indirectly assess the presence and the amount of collaboration in a network. A first analysis, at a strategic level (based on criteria of competence similarities and activity complementarity) it is complemented by a more operative point of view (analysis of production links among potential partners).