Porter's Competitive Advantage
The Competitive Advantage of Nations
Michael E. Porter
Harvard Business Review
90211
HBR
MARCH±APRIL 1990
The Competitive Advantage of Nations
Michael E. Porter
National prosperity is created, not inherited. It does not grow out of a country's natural endowments, its labor pool, its interest rates, or its currency's value, as classical economics insists.
A nation's competitiveness depends on the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade. Companies gain advantage against the world's best competitors because of pressure and challenge. They benefit from having strong domestic rivals, aggressive home-based suppliers, and demanding local customers.
In a world of increasingly global competition, nations have become more, not less, important. As the basis of competition has shifted more and more to the creation and assimilation of knowledge, the role of the nation has grown. Competitive advantage is created and sustained through a highly localized process. Differences in national values, culture, economic structures, institutions, and histories all contribute to competitive success. There are striking differences in the patterns of competitiveness in every country; no nation can or will be competitive in every or even most industries. Ultimately, nations succeed in particular industries because their home environment is the most forward-looking, dynamic, and challenging.
These conclusions, the product of a four-year study
Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter is the author of Competitive Strategy (Free Press, 1980) and Competitive Advantage (Free Press, 1985) and will publish The Competitive Advantage of Nations (Free Press) in May 1990.
Author's note: Michael J. Enright, who served as project coordinator for this study, has contributed valuable suggestions.
Copyright
of the patterns of competitive success in ten leading trading nations, contradict the conventional wisdom that guides the thinking of
Michael E. Porter
Harvard Business Review
90211
HBR
MARCH±APRIL 1990
The Competitive Advantage of Nations
Michael E. Porter
National prosperity is created, not inherited. It does not grow out of a country's natural endowments, its labor pool, its interest rates, or its currency's value, as classical economics insists.
A nation's competitiveness depends on the capacity of its industry to innovate and upgrade. Companies gain advantage against the world's best competitors because of pressure and challenge. They benefit from having strong domestic rivals, aggressive home-based suppliers, and demanding local customers.
In a world of increasingly global competition, nations have become more, not less, important. As the basis of competition has shifted more and more to the creation and assimilation of knowledge, the role of the nation has grown. Competitive advantage is created and sustained through a highly localized process. Differences in national values, culture, economic structures, institutions, and histories all contribute to competitive success. There are striking differences in the patterns of competitiveness in every country; no nation can or will be competitive in every or even most industries. Ultimately, nations succeed in particular industries because their home environment is the most forward-looking, dynamic, and challenging.
These conclusions, the product of a four-year study
Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter is the author of Competitive Strategy (Free Press, 1980) and Competitive Advantage (Free Press, 1985) and will publish The Competitive Advantage of Nations (Free Press) in May 1990.
Author's note: Michael J. Enright, who served as project coordinator for this study, has contributed valuable suggestions.
Copyright
of the patterns of competitive success in ten leading trading nations, contradict the conventional wisdom that guides the thinking of