Competitiveness of innovation-driven economies: Insights from selected European countries

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this paper is to analyse the role of innovation in competitiveness development and to identify the most competitive European economies. From the perspective of contemporary challenges, the following research question will be considered: How innovations determine development of the most competitive European economies?

Research Design & Methods: Besides employing critical literature analysis, the research methods based on quantitative synthesis will also be used. Interpretations are developed through an in-depth comprehensive review of different studies and secondary data analysis.

Findings: The results provide valuable insights into how innovations determine development of the most competitive European economies. Measuring competitiveness relies on taking into account both supply-side and demand-side indicators. Based on the GCI both the demand-side as well as the supply-side innovation indicators were identified.

Contribution & Value Added: The novelty of the study consists, on the one hand, in developing the conceptual framework for innovative competitiveness that contributes to the shaping of socioeconomic transitions and, on the other hand, in determining the innovation-driven factors of the most competitive European countries.

Keywords

competition, competitiveness, innovation, innovation-driven economies, innovative competitiveness, Global Competitiveness Index

Author Biography

Maria Urbaniec

Assistant Professor at the Department of Entrepreneurship and Innovation of the Cracow University of Economics. She received her PhD in Economics and her MA in Business Economics from the International Graduate School Zittau at the Technische Universität Dresden (Germany). Her research focuses on sustainable entrepreneurship, eco-innovation, and industry 4.0.

References

1. Atkinson, R.D. (2013). Competitiveness, Innovation and Productivity: Clearing up the Confusion. Washington: The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.
2. Berger, T. (2008). Concepts of national competitiveness. Journal of International Business and Economy, 9(1), 91-111.
3. Block, J.H., Fisch, C.O., & van Praag, M. (2017). The Schumpeterian entrepreneur: a review of the empirical evidence on the antecedents, behavior and consequences of innovative entrepreneurship. Industry and Innovation, 24(1), 61-95.
4. Brem, A., Maier, M., & Wimschneider, C. (2016). Competitive advantage through innovation: the case of Nespresso. European Journal of Innovation Management, 19(1), 133-148.
5. Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2007). Business research methods. 2ed edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
6. Clark, J.M. (1961). Competition as a Dynamic Process. Washington: Brookings Institution.
7. Crowther, D., & Lancaster, G. (2008). Research Methods: A Concise Introduction to Research in Management and Business Consultancy. 2ed edition, New York: Taylor & Francis.
8. De Soto, H.J. (2008). The Austrian School Market Order and Entrepreneurial Creativity. Cheltenham, Northampton: Edward Elgar.
9. Diamond, A.M. (2006). Schumpeter’s Creative Destruction: A Review of the Evidence. Journal of Private Enterprise, 22(1), 120-146.
10. Edler, J., & Georghiou, L. (2007). Public procurement and innovation – Resurrecting the demand side. Research Policy, 36(7), 949-963.
11. Edler, J., Georghiou, L., Blind, K., & Uyarra, E. (2012). Evaluating the demand side: New challenges for evaluation. Research Evaluation, 21(1), 33-47.
12. Edler, J., & Yeow, J. (2016). Connecting demand and supply: the role of intermediation in public procurement of innovation. Research Policy, 45(2), 414-426.
13. Easterby-Smith, M., Thorpe, R., & Lowe, A. (2002). Management Research: An Introduction. 2ed edition, London: Sage.
14. European Union (2013). Trend report: Un-locking the potential of business and societal innovation; how to scale-up successful new business and production models? Business Innovation Observatory. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/first-trend-report-%E2%80%98un-locking-potential-business-and-societal-innovation%E2%80%99_en
15. European Union (2015). Supply and Demand Side Innovation Policies. Annexes of First policy brief. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, doi: 10.2777/43249.
16. European Union (2017). Current challenges in fostering the European innovation ecosystem. Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, doi:10.2760/768124, JRC108368.
17. von Hayek, F.A. (2002). Competition as a Discovery Procedure. The Quartely Journal of Austrian Economics, 5(3), 9-23.
18. Ito, J., & Howe, J. (2016). Whiplash: How to Survive Our Faster Future. New York: Grand Central Publishing.
19. Johnston, M.P. (2014). Secondary Data Analysis: A Method of which the Time Has Come. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, QQML(3), 619-626.
20. Listra, E. (2015). The concept of competition and the objectives of competitors. 20th International Scientific Conference Economics and Management – 2015 (ICEM-2015). Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 213, 25-30.
21. Miles, I., & Rigby, J. (2013). Demand-Led Innovation. In: D. Cox, J. Rigby (eds) Innovation Policy Challenges for the 21st Century (pp. 36-63). New York: Routledge.
22. Mowery, DC., & Rosenberg, N. (1979). The influence of market demand upon innovation: a critical review of some recent empirical studies. Research Policy, 8, 103-153.
23. OECD (1996). Globalization and Competitiveness: Relevant Indicators. OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers, 5.
24. Porter, M.E. (1990). The competitive advantage of nations. Harvard Business Review, 68(2), 73-93.
25. Porter, M.E., & Rivkin, J.W. (2012). The Looming Challenge to U.S. Competitiveness. Harvard Business Review, 90(3), 54-61.
26. Reinert, H., & Reinert, E.S. (2012). Creative Destruction in Economics: Nietzsche, Sombart, Schumpeter. In: J. Backhaus and W. Drechsler (eds) Friedrich Nietzsche 1844-2000: Economy and Society (pp. 5-7). Boston: Kluwer.
27. Schumpeter, J.A. (1934). The Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry Into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest, and the Business Cycle. London: Transaction Publishers.
28. Schumpeter, J.A. (1939). Business Cycles, A Theoretical, Historical and Statistical Analysis of Capitalist Process. London: Porcupine Press.
29. Schumpeter, J.A. (2008). Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. Harper Perennial Modern Classics. Third Edition, New York: Harper Perennial Modern Thought.
30. Siudek, T., & Zawojska, A. (2014). Competitiveness in the Economic Concepts, Theories and Empirical research. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Oeconomia, 13(1), 91-108.
31. Smith, A. [1776] (2007). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. MetaLibri Digital Library: Lausanne. Retrieved from: https://www.ibiblio.org/ml/libri/s/SmithA_WealthNations_p.pdf
32. Steckel, R.H. (1995). Stature and the Standard of Living. Journal of Economic Literature, XXXIII, 1903-1940.
33. Stiglitz, J.E. (2002). Competition and Competitiveness in a New Economy. In: H. Handler and C. Burger (eds) Competition and Competitiveness in a New Economy (pp. 11-26). Vienna: Austrian Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs.
34. UNCTAD (2009). The relationship between competition, competitiveness and development. TD/B/COM.2/CLP/30. Retrieved from: http://unctad.org/Sections/ditc_ccpb/docs/ditc_ccpb0020_en.pdf
35. Urbaniec, M. (2018). Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Innovation-Related Activities in European Enterprises. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 27(4), 1773-1779.
36. Urbaniec, M., & Gerstlberger, W. (2011). Innovation in environment-oriented networks: Influence factors from case study and survey research. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 22(6), 686-704.
37. Vartanian, T.P. (2011). Secondary data analysis. New York, NY: Oxford.
38. Vivarelli, M. (2013). Is entrepreneurship necessarily good? Microeconomic evidence from developed and developing countries. Industrial and Corporate Change, 22(6), 1453-1495.
39. WEF (2017). The Global Competitiveness Report 2017-2018. Geneva: World Economic Forum.