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This paper aims to create a mapping of competitive advantage of nations (CAN) from research using some previous studies and recommend future research.

This paper applies a systematic literature review on the most recent studies of CAN. The research gap is analysed based on several categories: implication (strategy and policy, portrait); general characteristics (fundamental issues, indicators and patterns); solution methodology and strategic level (nation and industry). Then, the state-of-the-art analysis is used to develop future research.

The results of this study recommend future research of CAN based on the following CAN categories: implication (strategy and policy, portrait); general characteristics (fundamental issues, indicators and patterns); solution methodology and strategic level (nation and industry).

This literature review has important implications and gives direction for research and teaching, as well as for further investigation of CAN. The limitation lies in the classification of patterns, which requires further study to avoid the ambiguity of grouping.

This is the first literature review about CAN using categories. It is of value in building future research of CAN in different industries and nations.

Why do some nations win or lose a share of world trade? Michael Porter, author of the two most widely quoted books on strategic management, has just published a masterful new book, The Competitive Advantage of Nations, which offers a theory to explain the triumph of some nations in some markets.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the origins and journey of the fundamental ideas underpinning Michael Porter’s The Competitive Advantage of Nations as a means of assessing its influence.

Drawing on a reflection of the book’s text and associated works by Porter, the paper shows how Porter’s thinking evolved from his earlier writings, as well as how his ideas went through further periods of development following the publication of The Competitive Advantage of Nations.

The paper focuses on the emergence of Porter’s cluster theory and his growing acknowledgement of the role of innovation within processes of economic development. It shows how these concepts have provided a foundation for contemporary economic development practices. Also, the paper highlights how the fundamental concepts of Porter’s text have shifted from a unit of analysis focused on nations to one where subnational regions are the primary analytical unit.

The paper concludes by suggesting that the nature of Porter’s conceptual insights is likely to ensure the long-term endurance of the fundamental lessons contained within The Competitive Advantage of Nations.

Offshore outsourcing offers competitive advantages when goods and services are produced economically and with acceptable or superior quality by suppliers located outside a firm's home country. The purpose of this paper is to focus on India as a destination for offshore outsourcing of services and the challenges it faces in maintaining its leadership in this area. The paper discusses the growth of services outsourcing and the economic and environmental forces that have contributed to the outsourcing of high‐end services, also known as knowledge process outsourcing (KPO).

This article surveys the literature of offshore outsourcing and identifies strategic drivers and options that can help India to grow and consolidate its position as an exporter of services and build long‐term competitive advantages in its relationships with global partners. To understand why nations gain competitive advantage in certain industries, Porter's “diamond” model is utilized as a broad framework for examining policies and national strategies that can sustain India's competitive advantage in outsourcing of knowledge‐based services. The paper discusses India's current and prospective assets and liabilities that correspond to the model's four components.

The article discusses India's competitive edge as a leading supplier of knowledge‐based services and proposes a model for sustaining this edge. The model proposes key policy steps to move from the current position (e.g. supplier of business process outsourcing services) to a role of knowledge leader by providing advanced value added services to global clients. This model suggests ways in which a supplier nation can gain leverage in the value chain.

The article is conceptual, not empirical. Public and corporate policy implications are presented to strengthen India's competitive advantages in outsourced services.

The article presents a strategic roadmap with policy implications that can help move India up the value chain from being primarily a destination for low‐end business process outsourcing (BPO) to that of a co‐equal, high value‐adding partner or principal who offers knowledge leadership in the design and delivery of services for global markets.

The article discusses a nation's technical strengths, as well as cultural and infrastructure weaknesses, that can contribute to volatility as a global outsourcing leader. The article also presents strategies that can reduce a nation's vulnerabilities to competitive actions.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on some policy possibilities and outcomes for three countries of interest suggested in Porter’s The Competitive Advantage of Nations.

This research was both exploratory and qualitative in nature and utilized an in-depth case study approach of three major international economies reflecting previous observations in The Competitive Advantage of Nations. Personal contemporaneous observations of individuals in the countries of interest were complemented by current secondary information. The three countries selected for analysis, South Korea, Sweden and the USA, reflected different stages of development at the time The Competitive Advantage of Nations was published and certainly different progress since then.

The Competitive Advantage of Nations advocated new, constructive and actionable roles for government and business. These observations can now be tested after a reasonable time of development. In terms of development, Korea would appear to be the star of the group; Sweden has made strong progress in comparison with other members of the European Union. Although there are areas of strength, the USA recently has lost much of the edge it had at the time of the Advantage’s publication.

Because this research was built on case studies, one has the reservations common with that approach. On the other hand, case studies are acknowledged as useful in the identification of important variables in situations in which there is little control over events in a real-world context.

Countries must go their own way and find their own paths to success. In some ways, directions are suggested by Schumpeter (1942/1975) and in others, by Porter (1990/1996). Chance appears to have played a role in development in each instance, but government, seen as a fifth determinant possibility by Porter, heavily affected outcomes in each instance.

Although relying heavily on Porter, results add insight into the development of economies over time.

Recent liberalization of the world's textile and apparel trade policies and the consequent changes in trade patterns posited threats to smaller textile‐ and apparel‐exporting nations, including Thailand. Thus it is important to understand how the new trade environment affects the competitiveness of Thailand's apparel industry. This study seeks to provide insights into how Thailand's apparel industry has responded to increasingly fierce global competition by drawing on Porter's theory of The Competitive Advantage of Nations.

To assess the competitiveness of the Thai industry, the study triangulated data from various sources, including secondary statistics, media reports, and relevant industry publications. In‐depth, semi‐structured interviews were also conducted, and participants included key executives from Thailand's apparel industry, government officials, and academics. The interviews were conducted at various locations in three Thai provinces: Bangkok, Nonthaburi, and Samutsakorn, over a two‐week period.

Findings revealed the existence of four determinants supporting the Thai apparel industry: basic v. specialized factors; sophisticated and demanding consumer market; the presence of interdependent economic agents; and strategies and structure of Thai companies and domestic rivals. These four determinants are identical to the “diamonds” outlined in Porter's theory of The Competitive Advantage of Nations and a new source of competitiveness. Furthermore, the Thai government was found to play an important role, by providing support to enhance the global competitiveness of Thai companies.

The study is among the first to attempt to provide insights into the competitive national advantage of the Thai apparel industry. Based on the findings, the outlook is positive for the continued success of Thailand's apparel industry in the global arena.

Why do nations succeed in particular industries? Why do certain industries prosper in one country, but languish in others? Several recent attempts to address these core questions in the study of geography and strategy are based on the notion of domestic rivalry as the essence of the persistence of competitive advantage of nations. Starting from the claim that rivalry between countries typically implies competition among organizational populations across national boundaries, in this paper we make a first attempt to develop empirical connections between a central problem in international business and the conceptual and analytical categories of corporate demography. Relying on information on the founding of 719 independent motorcycle producers operating in Belgium, Italy and Japan during the period 1898–1993, we build on recent results in organizational ecology to link a selected number of essential but underspecified aspects in current theories of international business to observable patterns of competition within and among organizational populations. The results of the analysis invite a new interpretation of the evolutionary forces that shape the competitive advantage of nations.

Aims to examine the issue of industrial strategy (IS), paying particular attention to the case of Britain. Sets out to assess the possibility and nature of an industrial strategy for Britain, in Europe, and within the global scene, taking into account the world we live in as we see it. Accordingly, the perspective is driven and shaped by a quest for a realistic, feasible and sustainable industrial strategy. In order to achieve these objectives, first examines the theoretical arguments behind much of British, and more generally, Western industrial policies. Following this, outlines and assesses British industrial policy post‐Second World War then compares and contrasts British industrial policy with that of Europe, the USA, Japan and the newly industrialized countries. Then examines recent developments in economics and management which may explain the “Far Eastern” miracle, and points to the possibility of a successful, narrowly self‐interested, IS for Europe and Britain, based on the lessons from (new) theory and international experience. To assess what is possible, develops a theoretical framework linking firms in their roles as consumers and/or electors. This hints at the possibilities and limits of feasible policies. All these ignore desirability which, in the author′s view, should be seen in terms of distributional considerations, themselves contributors to sustainability. Accordingly, discusses a desirable industrial strategy for Britain in Europe which accounts for distributional considerations, and goes on to examine its implications for the issue of North‐South convergence. Concludes by pointing to the limitations of the analysis and to directions for developments.

Since the 1990s, the International Olympic Committee has offered nations more medal-winning opportunities at every Winter Games. Meanwhile, many countries are constrained by their limited financial resources to target sports strategically. The purpose of this paper is to examine the targeting approaches to Olympic Winter Sports of National Sports Agencies (NSAs), and to identify the factors they assess in the decision-making process.

The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 11 decision makers of medal-winning NSAs at the 2014 Sochi Games. The data were then analysed with reference to strategic management in an approach which combines a resource-based view (RBV) with a market-based view (MBV) to build a competitive advantage.

The results show that NSAs, like firms, combine an internal analysis that reflects the RBV on resources and capabilities (e.g. athletes’ performance per sport and sport-specific elite sport system), with an external analysis of the competitive environment that reflects an MBV (e.g. sport’s medal market size and intensity of competition at Games) to target sports. Using this information, two phases were distinguished: first, the target sports are identified and finance is prioritised accordingly; second, the allocation of the nation’s resources is constantly reviewed in order to optimise it.

Even though social desirability bias in the responses could not be fully excluded, the findings can help policy-makers to distinguish between the internal and external factors identified in this study, and to make more strategic decisions by combining RBV and MBV approaches to build-up their nation’s competitive advantage.

This paper models the targeting strategies of NSAs during an Olympic cycle by introducing the competitive positioning of firms to sports management.