An afternoon of exchange of ideas and experiences. This was the result of the M&V Workshop – Related Variety: why synergies?, held on April 30, 2019, during the 52nd Capital do Móvel fair, as part of the M&V Project: Competitiveness Challenge.

More than 20 entrepreneurs in the region have sought, through different dynamics, to discuss the importance of synergies between companies from different sectors. From textiles to furniture, business people shared their experiences and outlined strategies for harnessing the region’s resources and assets.

“We consider this kind of initiative to be essential for entrepreneurs to build bridges and to find new formulas for cooperation. It is from the exchange of ideas that the best business partnerships are born and, therefore, these workshops act as a meeting point for entrepreneurs who would otherwise hardly connect, ”said project manager Filipa Belo.

The workshop was attended by Alexandre Campos, from COMPETINOV, who streamlined part of the workshop, creating conditions for the active sharing and participation of those present.

“At the end of the workshop, it was recognized by those present the importance of cooperation and coopetition, to address the lack of competitiveness in various strategic areas that require new attitudes, greater entrepreneurial openness to find integrated solutions and strategic vision essential to change the business relationship between competitors companies and with other entities ”, concluded Filipa Belo.

The workshop “M&V – Collaborative Innovation: the next step” took place on December 13th, 2019, at the Paços de Ferreira Business Association’s premises, under the M&V Project: Challenge to Competitiveness, in which associations, companies and even entities of the creative industry and the Scientific and Technological System (SCT) were present.

Throughout the morning, central issues were discussed for the promotion of the competitiveness of companies in the region, namely by sharing solutions and brainstorming ideas in order to foster and facilitate the intuitive approach between companies and entities.

In the present workshop it was clear that, despite the recognized difficulties, the way forward is to promote collective strategies where resources or skills can be shared directly or indirectly through cooperation between companies and entities.

Thus, it was recognized the importance of cooperation and coopetition, to fill the lack of competitiveness between companies. The second M&V Workshop was another action funded through the Northern Regional Operational Program, the European Union and the European Regional Development Fund.

The advantages of cooperation and coopetition are immense and essentially derive from harnessing synergies, allowing for benefits such as: resources, technologies, skills and complementary know-how that would otherwise be inaccessible; risk sharing in approaching new business and new markets; economies of scale that enable better knowledge of markets and rationalization of activities; access to material resources, technologies, finance, distribution channels, suppliers and customers.

The Directory of Good Practices for Business Cooperation and Coopetition has contents that allow the establishment of logics of complementarity between innovation, cooperation and coopetition, considering its importance to define internationalization strategies that reflect high levels of supply reliability, business maturity and smart specialization in rationalizing resources.