3) Firms who work together to achieve a shared objective are using a cooperative strategy [of one sort or another]. Discuss the key reasons that some firms choose to use a cooperative strategy. Are these reasons of equal validity or legitimacy? And, given that not all cooperative endeavors achieve success, what are a few of the reasons why this might be so?

There are several reasons that a firm would chose to use a cooperative strategy. Cooperative strategies help create value for the customer along with putting the company in a good position in regards to their competition. Both of these reasons are of equal validity and legitimacy, since they allow a company to leverage their resources for the overall good of the company. Not all cooperative endeavors achieve success in the end even though they start out with good intentions. Every cooperative endeavor is taken on with a certain amount of risk and uncertainty. And since it is impossible to predict the future there are always going to be things that happened that are out of your control and that you did not plan for from the beginning.

Most times...

Is the firm successful in the following one (or more) generic strategies? Why or why not? What do you believe are some of the challenges the firm faces in implementing these strategies in an effective manner?
If you look at Wal-Mart you can see that they use the Cost Leadership strategy very effectively. The low cost leader in the market has competitive advantage over everyone else. Being the low cost leader does not always lead to low prices but in Wal-Mart's case it does. They shave costs off every element of their value chain. Their products tend to be no frills, but they are exactly what their customers want. One challenge that Wal-Mart faces in implementing this strategy in an effective manner is keeping a good group of suppliers that allows them to continue to offer the low price products that they have become so famous for. Keeping prices down and their customers happy is the key to their success.