Under the burning light of user scrutiny, the open company must acknowledge its errors. Ultimately, there is no choice. A company must be honest or become honest. If users can trust a company, the competition will have great difficulty stealing them away. And, a company that relies on proprietary information flows will not be as favored by users.
Lower resistance equals greater usability.
In a general market comparison, between a company with an information proprietary stance versus a company with an information open stance, the closed company certainly seems better positioned. For example, a closed company will simply steal the good ideas of the open company. The open company seems naked, and competitors will take its secrets. But that is the wrong comparison to make, and it is the wrong scenario to envision. The new business model, the one based on user-centered knowledge acquisition and usability, tells us a much different story.