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This paper concerns regional development of quality management. The purpose is to identify and describe environmental factors that governments can influence in order to facilitate the development of quality management in regions and nations.

The paper is a survey directed at the quality managers of industrial companies in the region of Götaland, Sweden. The data have been analysed using factor analysis.

The results in this paper indicate that human issues are most important for achieving regional quality development whereas physical infrastructure is less important.

The paper has been based on Porter's diamond model. The implications of the results are that the human aspects of this framework are most important, particularly the attribute “firm strategy, structure and rivalry”. A tentative quality diamond model, which can provide a basis for further research, is proposed.

Regional and national leaders should focus on human aspects such as education, training and leadership in order to stimulate successful quality management. The proposed quality diamond model might be an aid in their effort to create an environment that is conducive for quality management.

The paper provides academia with added knowledge of the importance of different environmental factors for successful quality management. In addition, it provides valuable directions for regional and national leaders in their quest for higher quality.

The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework and set of propositions to analyze competitiveness of India's agrifood chain. Nine components constitute the framework. These are identified on the basis of theoretical studies and expert consultations. Each component leads to at least one proposition.

The framework is dependent on two major streams of management – value chain analysis (VCA) and strategic competitiveness. Porter's diamond at the industry level and Momaya's asset‐process‐performance (APP) model at the firm level provide the base for competitiveness discussions.

The framework comprises of “human” and “non‐human” components. They are more like members of a network where action of each has an impact on the other. By examining the roles of human components like national government, producers, processors, etc. and non‐human components like food quality, regulatory scenario, etc. side‐by‐side, this study breaks new grounds in exploring the synergy of VCA and competitiveness management.

Journal papers based on Indian food industry's competitiveness or supply chain are very limited. There is also a dearth of literature on India's agrifood sector. This has reduced the scope for published references from India.

The paper can serve as a reference point for researchers/students and other stakeholders interested in Indian food and retail industry. The framework has implications for developing countries like India that are exploring opportunities in global retail diffusions. It is also of use to researchers from developing economies where the role of “national government” can be significant in the development of an industry. The framework is built as a flexible and adaptable tool, which can suit other industry sectors with minor modifications.

The paper has attempted to create a common ground where the two theories of VCA and competitiveness are able to meet. An empirical validation of the framework can encourage more future research on this topic. This paper can also be used by researchers as a reference point for studies on Indian agrifood sector. The proposed framework can be used as an analytical tool by researchers to study similar industries from developing economies like textiles, leather, etc. that are unorganized.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the competitive performance of four major Iranian synthetic fiber‐manufacturing companies, as one of the main sectors in the textile industry, using an analytical approach. The results presented assist in evaluating the competitive performance of a company, while developing recommendations for improving competitive strategy of the firms.

The proposed approach is based on Porter's diamond of competitive advantage (including four main determinants, namely factor conditions, demand, related and supporting industries and firm strategy and rivalry, plus government as an external factor). This approach is based on five determinants, each one consisting of two to six elements, with each element including a number of variables, i.e. 55 variables in total, which were confirmed by the interviewees as important factors affecting the competitiveness of a firm. Accordingly, the results obtained from the interviews confirmed the validity of the proposed approach to assess the competitiveness of a company. In addition the proposed approach is applied to assessing the competitive performance of four companies which manufacture synthetic fibers, in terms of each determinant as well as the overall competitive performance of each company. The data used in this research were obtained from both face‐to‐face interviews and a questionnaire completed by the key managers and engineers at the companies studied. The validity of the results obtained by means of the proposed approach was also correlated by comparing the results with the Export Value and Relative Comparative Advantage index of the synthetic fiber industry in Iran.

The results reveal that the competitiveness of the four companies is significantly low. Furthermore, of the five determinants, factor condition yielded the highest performance for the firms. The paper also identifies some of the shortcomings affecting the local manufacturers, and provides recommendations on how to improve the competitive performance of the firms.

The proposed approach provides a good basis for assessing the competitive performance of the companies. This can also help both researchers and practitioners in deciding how best to improve the competitive performance of a company.

The research proposes an analytical method for measuring the competitiveness of companies. This also helps in developing recommendations for improving competitive strategy. In addition, the method evaluates the competitive performance of four companies which play an important role in the Iranian synthetic fiber industry. Recommendations are also made on how to improve the performance. The findings should prove useful for both researchers and practitioners.

The purpose of this paper is to substantiate Porter's ideas through multiple case studies of firms in one of Thailand's potential niches – Thai silk.

This study examined upgrading strategies adopted by six companies involved in the production and distribution of silk and silk products in Thailand. Information was gathered from company documents and interview statements given by company executives and government policy makers. Standard approaches to organizing and analyzing qualitative case study data, including description, pattern identification, concept categorization and generalization were utilized.

The companies have implemented upgrading strategies in the following four main areas: first, balancing efficiency and old customs in production; second, innovating new products while preserving unique traditional features; third, developing modern marketing and distribution techniques with a cultural flare; and fourth, building linkages and clusters.

Stakeholders of traditional- or cultural-related industries may increase their chances of successfully renewing their businesses’ competitive advantage by carefully balancing the needs to both preserve and modernize key processes in their industries’ value chains.

The paper's findings and recommendations may to be useful to other traditional industries that share similar challenges both in Thailand and in other Southeast Asian countries.

Competitiveness has been the objective of investigation in tourism in general, and particularly in hospitality, by many researchers in the past decades. The purpose of this study is to identify which main factors are considered crucial for the increase of competitiveness in hospitality, by applying the Porter’s diamond model to this sector.

The methodology used in the study required the use of primary data from which the authors obtained 285 responses from companies related to hospitality in Portugal. In the processing of data, the authors used a structural equation model.

The results showed that “government policies”, “factor conditions”, “related and supporting industries” and “cooperation and innovation” were determinant factors of the competitiveness of the sector.

Despite the importance of competitiveness in hospitality, the number of studies focused on the empirical validation models of competitiveness, applied to the hospitality industry, is still incipient. This study contributes to fill this gap.

This study aims to provide current and organised insights into past published studies on tourism destination competitiveness (TDC) in the past decade through systematic literature analysis.

A comprehensive review was performed by systematically gathering the literature published from 1983 to 2021 and coded according to categories such as author, year, article title, name of journal and TDC determinants.

The key findings of this review reveal that no universal set of items, attributes or indicators to measure the competitiveness of tourism destinations exists; the complexity and variability of many definitions and measuring elements from various perspectives portray the multi-faceted concept of competitiveness; and synergistic connection between the source of comparative and competitive advantages of TDC focusing on destination image, tourism experience and loyalty.

Research works considered in the study are only from indexed and peer-reviewed journal publications.

The study findings reveal a lack of studies that address the relationship between destination image, tourism experience and loyalty within the TDC realm. Future studies should consider complementing the tourism supply and demand side to avoid a “strategic drift” of TDC concepts, perceptions and practices.

This study aims to develop an artifact to measure the level of manufacturing competitiveness of a country in the global context and provide a suitable interpretation mechanism for the measured values, and to provide prescriptive solution where necessary so that the country can develop an actionable plan of program to move from the current level of global competitiveness to another such that they could provide more economic opportunities for their citizenry.

A manufacturing competitive index (MCI) was developed which includes relevant variables to capture a country’s manufacturing activity level in an economy with a balanced perspective. Reliable international sources were used. Ward algorithm was used to identify clear clusters of performance upon which competitive gaps were measured and improvement projects were identified and prioritized to obtain the best value for cluster transitional plan.

This study shows that the case country is not doing as well as it wants to believe, even when the relevant technology import measures were included in the expanded metric, but also, the next level of competitiveness is achievable within the national budget if proper prioritization is done.

The paper presents a cocktail of indexes that is more exhaustive of MCI, including both research capacity and technology import variables. It also uses clustering mechanism to provide a proper context to interpret the MCI scores in the context of peer nations. It presents a gap determination methodology and shows how priority projects could be logically selected to close measured gaps based on anticipated value from budget expenses

The objective of this paper is to present an analysis on the competitiveness of Romania as a tourism destination, based on Porter's diamond model. The model developed in this paper seeks to capture the main elements of competitiveness highlighted in the literature, while appreciating the special issues involved in exploring the notion of destination competitiveness as emphasized by tourism researchers. An overview of the Romanian tourism industry is included to test the findings of the proposed research model. Throughout the analysis, the paper also focuses on the most competitive export products and their prospects for improvement. The study allows for the identification of different tourism products potential, and can be used by industry and government to identify opportunities for competitiveness enhancement.

The purpose of this paper is to describe how sustainable development has been initiated in a country (Sweden) in which sustainable development has priority and has produced observable results – essentially, the definition and reshaping of contents (p. 107) referred to in the Zhang and London (ZL) paper, therefore adding some validity to the model.

The research is both exploratory and qualitative in nature and uses an in-depth case study approach to the Swedish international economy as might be reflected by ZL’s modified Porter model. Information drawn from current secondary sources is complemented by personal contemporaneous observations of individuals in the country of interest.

The task of implementing Sweden’s strategy for sustainable development is holistic, and the State has played a major role in its development. That is, sustainability is the responsibility of the Government Offices as a whole, which produces proactive programs in each of the interactions analyzed in the ZL modified model. As an aside, the country has sustained a high level of competitiveness while producing a pleasant environment in which to live.

Limitations in the study follow the same criticisms made of Porter’ seminal treatment – (still) lack of a formal model construction (although ZL make a meaningful contribution), (still) lack of clear definitions (although ZL make a meaningful contribution), problematic research methodology (although an attempt has been made at improvement) and lack of empirical testing among others (and it is thought that this paper is a step in the right direction).

Insofar as Sweden might be a model for other countries interested in extending their efforts in sustainable development, observations here provide some insights into possible approaches and results.

The approach basically followed Siggelkow’s (2007) definition of the use of cases as illustrations, which is useful when the underlying development depends upon constructs. It follows that the association of real-world observations with theory well serves the underlying foundation and cannot help but build credibility of those concepts and theory.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze raw materials, labor, capital, demand, related industries, strategies and policies influencing international competitiveness of Chinese textile and clothing industry.

The analysis is conducted using “Diamond Model”, in which raw materials, labor, capital, demand, related industries, strategies and policies are included as explanatory variables, and the impacts of international competitiveness on market share (MS), trade competitiveness(TC) and revealed comparative advantage(RCA) are examined based on the estimated coefficients of these variables.

These factors have different effects on TC, MS and RCA. While their effects on TC and MS are similar in sign even though their degree of significance differs, their effects on RCA are opposite to TC and MS except for capital. Raw materials and capital have negative effects on TC and MS, while the other factors have positive ones. Raw materials have positive effects on RCA, but all other factors have negative ones.

The results from this study imply that it is necessary to increase investment in fixed assets of Chinese textile and clothing industry, speed up the pace of upgrading equipment, improve the level of industrialization, while strengthening the supply of textile raw materials, and lowering raw material prices, thereby reducing the cost of textile and clothing enterprises.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first empirical research made using econometric model about the impact of the main factors of trade competitiveness in Chinese textile and clothing industry based on the “Diamond Model”.