Using the collaboration IS you built in Chapter 1 (page 25-26), and meet to discuss ways to form an alliance. Ideas they collaborate with a group of students to answer the following wanted to discuss further were sharing customer data, questions. If you haven't built your collaboration IS yet, reread developing a joint reservation service, and exchanging Collaboration Exercise 1 and Chapter Extension 10. Meet with property listings. your team and build a collaboration IS that uses tools like Google As they talked, it became clear they had no interest in Docs, SharePoint, or other collaboration tools. Do not forget the merging their businesses; each wanted to stay indepen- need for procedures and team training. dent. They also discovered that each was very concerned, Wilma Baker, Jerry Barker, and Chris Bickel met in even paranoid, about protecting their existing customer June 2020 at a convention of resort owners and tourism base from poaching. Still, the conflict was not as bad as it operators. They sat next to each other by chance while first seemed. Barker's business was primarily the ski trade, waiting for a presentation; after introducing themselves and winter was his busiest season; Bickel's business was and laughing at the odd sound of their three names, they mostly Cape Cod vacations, and she was busiest during the were surprised to learn that they managed similar busi- summer. Baker's high season was the summer and fall. So, nesses. Wilma Baker lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and it seemed there was enough difference in their high seasons specializes in renting homes and apartments to visitors that they would not necessarily cannibalize their businesses to Santa Fe. Jerry Barker lives in Whistler Village, British by selling the others' offerings to their own customers. Columbia, and specializes in renting condos to skiers and The question then became how to proceed. Given their other visitors to the Whistler/Blackcomb Resort. Chris desire to protect their own customers, they did not want Bickel lives in Chatham, Massachusetts, and specializes in to develop a common customer database. The best idea renting homes and condos to vacationers to Cape Cod. seemed to be to share data about properties. That way The three agreed to have lunch after the presentation. they could keep control of their customers but still have an During lunch, they shared frustrations about the difficulty opportunity to sell time at the others' properties. of obtaining new customers, given the numerous travel They discussed several alternatives. Each could develop opportunities available via the Internet today. Further, the her or his own property database, and the three could then rise in value of the dollar over the euro has created sub- share those databases over the Internet. Or they could develop stantial competition for North American tourism. a centralized property database that they would all use. Or As the conversation developed, they began to wonder they could find some other way to share property listings. if there was some way to combine forces (i.e., they were Because we do not know Baker, Barker, and Bickel's seeking a competitive advantage from an alliance). So, detailed requirements, you cannot develop a plan for a they decided to skip one of the next day's presentations specific system. In general, however, they first need to