Porter
. Porter and National Competitive Advantage
i. Introduction. Suggest answer to the question and outline how to validate your suggested answer by clarifying the analytical structure ii. Key Questions. Simply: this is not just a question about Porter. If you are thinking of outlining Porter and little else, please think again. Very briefly state what the concepts of national competitiveness and the diamond entail, which is naturally connected to the work of Porter. But the question is asking you to focus on critique. Therefore, what are the key issues, debates and problems with the ideas about the Competitive Advantage of Nations and the national diamond? The second half of this synergic question suggests you employ other ideas and a lot of evidence within an analytical structure. iii. National competitiveness is not a theory but a check list that is a tautology. I.e. If you do certain economic activities well, you will do well economically. Or German chemical companies succeed because of Germany’s R&D base. But where did this base come from? Do they just appear in the diamond or do we have a theory of how differing factor and demand conditions arise? iv. Is there a lack of the historical dimension, supplied in part by Late Development Theory? How might this add to missing dimensions in Porter?
v. Why does Porter downplay the role of the state, given the historical importance of the developmental state in industrialisation and improving national competitiveness? vi. Are factor and demand conditions purely national in their creation? Note Canada or Hong Kong, plus the role of the international economy and global webs (see Reich). How do we account for ideas about globalisation? vii. Conclusion
The Essay should start with a description of porters diamond….
Porters Critics 1. Porter is highly reductionist trying to capture the immense complexity into a simple four pointed diamond. According to Durkheim, social science is a complex phenomenon that
i. Introduction. Suggest answer to the question and outline how to validate your suggested answer by clarifying the analytical structure ii. Key Questions. Simply: this is not just a question about Porter. If you are thinking of outlining Porter and little else, please think again. Very briefly state what the concepts of national competitiveness and the diamond entail, which is naturally connected to the work of Porter. But the question is asking you to focus on critique. Therefore, what are the key issues, debates and problems with the ideas about the Competitive Advantage of Nations and the national diamond? The second half of this synergic question suggests you employ other ideas and a lot of evidence within an analytical structure. iii. National competitiveness is not a theory but a check list that is a tautology. I.e. If you do certain economic activities well, you will do well economically. Or German chemical companies succeed because of Germany’s R&D base. But where did this base come from? Do they just appear in the diamond or do we have a theory of how differing factor and demand conditions arise? iv. Is there a lack of the historical dimension, supplied in part by Late Development Theory? How might this add to missing dimensions in Porter?
v. Why does Porter downplay the role of the state, given the historical importance of the developmental state in industrialisation and improving national competitiveness? vi. Are factor and demand conditions purely national in their creation? Note Canada or Hong Kong, plus the role of the international economy and global webs (see Reich). How do we account for ideas about globalisation? vii. Conclusion
The Essay should start with a description of porters diamond….
Porters Critics 1. Porter is highly reductionist trying to capture the immense complexity into a simple four pointed diamond. According to Durkheim, social science is a complex phenomenon that