Faced with environment conditions - uncertain, complexity and globalization -, co-operation among firms has been widely regarded as a strategy that can sustain business development and to sustain firms' success. However, in recent years, a large amount of literature has emerged on co-operation strategy, but this basic research has been complex and fragmented from different analysis level. This literature shows also a lack of systematic conceptualization, as well as a weak dynamic within this type of entrepreneurial process. Thus, the article aims to present a conceptual model, based on some dimensions, to analyse co-operation process, as well as a typology of co-operation processes. This model was applied to a sample of 114 Portuguese enterprises. The main results show that the co-operation processes adopted by Portuguese firms (intentional, improvise, exploratory, and strategic) are not unique and they do not show the same behaviour's patterns. In each case, the managers should considerated other features and to use jointly several characteristics about these processes identified.
co-operation; typology; model; competitiveness
