Promoting Balanced Competitiveness Strategies Of Firms In Developing Countries

Since the pioneering work of Joseph Schumpeter (1942), it has been assumed that innovations typically play a key role in firms’ competitiveness. This assumption has been applied to firms in both developed and developing countries. However, the innovative capacities and business environments of firms in developing countries are fundamentally different from those in developed countries. It stands to reason that innovation and competitiveness models based on developed countries may not apply to developing countries. In this volume, Vivienne Wang and Elias G. Carayannis apply both theoretical approaches and empirical analysis to explore the dynamics of innovation in developing countries, with a particular emphasis on R&D in manufacturing firms. In so doing, they present an alternative to Michael Porter’s Competitive Advantage Model—a Competitive Position Model that focuses on incremental and adaptive innovations that are more appropriate than radical innovations for developing countries. Their research addresses such questions as: Do innovations advance the competitive positions of manufacturing firms in developing countries? Does the pace of innovation matter, in particular, in socio-economic and socio-political contexts? To what degree can national innovation systems and policies influence development? To what extent do a firm’s innovation commitments correlate with the protection of intellectual property rights? What roles do foreign direct investment and relationships with clusters and networks play? The resulting analysis not only challenges traditional theoretical approaches to innovation, but provides suggestions for improving business practice and policymaking.

Competition is present for almost every sector nowadays. Therefore, it is vital for companies to develop a set of strategies in order to survive in the competitive environment of a globalized world. This book discusses how and why not every strategy is appropriate for every sector. The volume offers a qualified and comprehensive analysis to determine effective competitive strategies taking into account the many different factors that affect company performance.

Globalization and structural adjustment offer many opportunities for export orientated industrialization in developing economies. As a group, competitiveness in the developing countries has improved, but, while East Asian economies have had rapid export growth and technological upgrades, South Asian and African economies have lagged behind. Old structures, institutions, behavioural patterns and public policies are ill-adapted to deal with the challenges posed by technological change and economic liberalization. Consequently there is an urgent need for change in government and private sector attitudes and strategies. This volume seeks to generalise the lessons across developing country and enterprise cases, and sheds light on which trade and industrial strategies and instruments work best, and which do not work, in relation to manufacturing competitiveness.

The Conference Theme was: "Moving Africa forward through Engineering, Technology and Innovation". The conference brought together academics, researchers and industrialists from many disciplines, in particular those that have the most impact on Africa's Development. Most conferences on the continent have covered limited disciplines and therefore the opportunity has been lost sharing information, results and knowledge in a way which can solve the many contentious issues, most of which can be solved through a multidisciplinary approach.

How a country competes in the world is the crucial factor in determining that country's ability to benefit from international trade in today's global economy. This book offers a complete and proper understanding of the meaning of international competitiveness, analyzes the implications it holds for an economy's progress, examines how it may be pursued and sustained at both the sectoral level (firms and industries) and the national level (strategic objectives). The author offers pertinent policy guidelines and prescriptions for how a nation can achieve and maintain international competitiveness in order to sustain the long-term prosperity of its industries, and hence the overall pace of economic growth. The book is arranged into three parts. Part I discusses and defines the theories of international competitiveness. Part II deals with policy issues, specifically the policy analysis of structural reforms for promoting a country's ability to compete, the impact of globalization and the role of Communication and Information Technology (CIT), strategic trade policies, and environmental issues. Part III analyzes the strategies used to pursue competitiveness. The book will be useful for researchers, students, and teachers of business and economics as well as policy makers, business practitioners, and international and governmental agencies.

The Pace of India's development depends to a large extent on its ability to implement the latest global manufacturing and the information and communication technologies and increase its competitiveness in the international market. In the developing countries world-wide, in recent times, the Pace of India's development depends to a large extent on its ability to implement the latest global manufacturing and the information and communication technologies and increase its competitiveness in the international market. In the developing countries world-wide, in recent times, manufacturing is taking over agriculture which in turn has led to the explosive growth of the service sector, especially in the fields of financial services, information and communication technologies, insurance, education and health. Indias service sector has already become the dominant contributor to GDP, accounting for 46 per cent of the total. Based on the information gathered from case studies, fact sheets and a range of self-assessment tools, and the authors interaction with academicians, bureaucrats, business executives and industrial experts, this book attempts to bring together the best management practices and provides the readers with a toolkit a practical advice. This book projects the hypothesis that no matter what the size or industry sector a company belongs to, there are a few tactics towards successful management which if adopted can phenomenally improve its global competitiveness.

Globalization has been under extreme pressure in the wake of the financial crisis. Multinational firms are weighing the costs and benefits of international scale and scope, and are increasingly under pressure to hire local, to source local, and to pay taxes domestically. At the same time global competitive pressures have intensified. This book reviews international business practices from the multinational firm perspective, and provides pathways forward concerning competitiveness and sustainability in global markets. What sets this book apart from others is that the benefits and pitfalls of globalization are addressed. Chapter coverage focuses on the functional areas of the business and how they are impacted by international expansion. Practical case studies supplement chapter coverage and highlight both positive and negative developments in the global business arena. Readers should expect to be challenged on what will be the limits of the multinational firm in the future, and how multinational firms can continue to prosper while at the same time adhere to sustainable business initiatives. Equally useful to both undergraduate and graduate students of international business as well as professional development programs, Global Business: Competitiveness and Sustainability provides a necessary tonic for dealing with today’s troubled seas of globalization.

In ‘Competitiveness and Development’, the author explains the confusion surrounding the concept of competitiveness in the context of developing countries; proposes policies for achieving competitiveness at a high level of development; examines its possibilities and constraints; and suggests policy changes necessary at the national and international levels. Shafaeddin illustrates how developed countries impose restrictive policies on developing countries through international financial institutions and the WTO, as well as regional and bilateral agreements, which limit their policy space for promoting dynamic comparative advantage in order to achieve competitiveness at a high level of development. Ultimately, such policies lock developing countries that are at early stages of development in specialization based on static comparative advantage and competitiveness at a low level of development.