An analysis of co-operations between software firms: An economic perspective

This paper confronts the consensus building on the importance of cooperation between firms, particularly software enterprise. It is based on an empirical study of the Austrian computer software industry, showing three types of interfirm co-operations and their diffusion, factors affecting the extent of co-operation, and the impact on business success. Most of the assumed influences on the amount of co-operations were supported by the data analysis, e.g. the level of IT staff recruitment problems. Evidence was found to support the view that a higher level of co-operation intensity leads to better business performance. Due to the highly globalize nature of the software industry the findings can also be very informative for other geographical areas, esp. for other European countries.