nterest in their efficiency and effectiveness. Incentives need to be expressed not in terms of revenue, market share and growth, but rather in terms of perceived performance against objectives, and benefits delivered to stakeholders. There are also many circumstances in which such organisations are actors in industry value-chains, or have the potential to have significant negative impact on corporations' cost-profiles, or speed of supply. Cooperation and even outright collaboration are important in such areas as defence and aerospace purchasing, international trade, taxation, statistical and corporate registration returns (Clarke 1994a, 1994b). It is contended that, even in corporations operating in free-market economies, organisational strategy should not be analysed exclusively in competitive terms. Other possible bases include: short-term survival (which is essentially concerned with being around long enough to be able to compete at all); medium-term survival (which is concerned with the establishment or re-establishment of a platform or infrastructure on which recovery from current difficulties can be based); service ("our clients need it"); the marketing imperative ("our customers want it"); the regulatory imperative ("if we don't do it, we'll be precluded from participating by some powerful legal or political authority"); corporate infrastructure (which is concerned with investing in an environment which will support future adaptability, and the conception and implementation of as yet unspecified - and probably unspecifiable - future strategic advantage); and the national strategic imperative ("the government has determined that it is essential to the nation's competitiveness"). This is apparent as an important factor in such countries as Japan and Singapore, and is the subject of Porter (1989). This last category (national competitive advantage) highlights the need for recognition of collaboration or cooperation at a level higher...
