Competitiveness

When talking about competitiveness one finds multiple definitions that differ quite heavy in some cases. At SSM, we use a combination of the definition given by the OECD, World Economic Forum (WEF), and some elements from the field of biology.

According to WEF, competitiveness is: “the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country.” Other definitions exist, but all generally include the word “productivity”. At SSM, we also do research on regions, continents, and organizational level.

Productivity is important because it has been found to be the main factor driving growth and income levels. And income levels are very closely linked to human welfare. So understanding the factors that allow for this chain of events to occur is very important. Basically, rising competitiveness means rising prosperity. (WEF, 2017)

Competitiveness on organizational level has lots to do with the composition of its resource base, the value chain, and the value proposition. On the regional level, strategic alliances, joint ventures, and other networks of organizations are subject of competitiveness research. On the national, subjects of research are the ability to compete on the global market, wealth creation, job creation, capture and return of investment, innovation, and entrepreneurial environment.

We invite our students to draft a research proposal that matches our views on competitiveness.