The competitive advantage of nations : with a new introduction

Included Index.

1. The Need for a New Paradigm --
2. The Competitive Advantage of Firms in Global Industries --
3. Determinants of National Competitive Advantage --
4. The Dynamics of National Advantage --
5. Four Studies in National Competitive Advantage --
6. National Competitive Advantage in Services --
7. Patterns of National Competitive Advantage: The Early Postwar Winners --
8. Emerging Nations in the 1970s and 1980s --
9. Shifting National Advantage --
10. The Competitive Development of National Economies --
11. Company Strategy --
12. Government Policy --
13. National Agendas --
App. A. Methodology for Preparing the Cluster Charts --
App. B. Supplementary Data on National Trade Patterns.

Based on research in ten leading trading nations, The Competitive Advantage of Nations offers the first theory of competitiveness based on the causes of the productivity with which companies compete. Porter shows how traditional comparative advantages such as natural resources and pools of labor have been superseded as sources of prosperity, and how broad macroeconomic accounts of competitiveness are insufficient. The book introduces Porter's "diamond," a whole new way to understand the competitive position of a nation (or other locations) in global competition that is now an integral part of international business thinking. Porter's concept of "clusters," or groups of interconnected firms, suppliers, related industries, and institutions that arise in particular locations, has become a new way for companies and governments to think about economies, assess the competitive advantage of locations, and set public policy.