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Title: COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF NATIONS by Michael E. Porter ISBN: 0-684-84147-9 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 1998 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.55 (11 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Reasons for success and failures of nations
Comment: Michael E. Porter is a Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and a leading authority on competition and strategic management. Porter is the author of the legendary business and management books 'Competitive Strategy' (1980), and 'Competitive Advantage' (1985). I cannot start this review without a word of warning: This book is consists of 850 pages and is thus not a quick weekend-read.
In this book, the author aims to answer the question, "Why do some social groups, economic institutions, and nations advance and prosper? ... I titled the book 'The Competitive Advantage of Nations' to highlight the crucial distinction between my broader concept of competitive advantage as a source of wealth and the nation of comparative advantage which had long dominated thinking about international competition." In order to answer this question, Porter uses his traditional extensive research methods and tools to prove his point.
The book is split up in four parts: (i) foundations; (2) industries; (3) nations; and (4) implications. In Chapter 1 - The Need for a New Paradigm, the author discusses the reasons for his research: "The central question to be answered is why do firms based in particular nations achieve international success in distinct segments and industries? The search is for the decisive characteristics of a nation that allow its firms to create and sustain competitive advantage in particular fields, that is, the competitive advantage of nations."
In Part I - Foundations, the author presents the theoretical frameworks which form the basis for the rest of the book. In Chapters 2, 3 and 4 Porter revisits most of his previous work, such as the five competitive forces, generic strategies, the value chain, and the advantages "diamond". Porter makes an important notion before turning the second part of the book: "The theory can and must be applied at two levels, the industry and the nation."
In Part II - Industries, the frameworks of Part I are applied to explain the histories of four industries (German printing press, American patient monitoring equipment, Italian ceramic tiles, and Japanese robotics). In addition, Porter applies the frameworks to the service sector. This is a sector which Porter has discussed very little in his previous books. "... an increasingly important class of industries where international competition has not been widely studied."
In Part III - Nations, the frameworks of Part I are applied to ten nations. Porter splits these ten nations up in early post-war winners, emerging nations in the 1970s and 1980s, and the traditional business countries (Britain and USA). Thank God, the author discusses both successes and failures within the different countries, plus identifying the reasons behind them. He also advises which steps can be taken to improve national advantage.
In Part IV - Implications, Porter discusses the impact of the frameworks of Part I on company's strategies and government policies. In the final chapter Porter tries to answer the question, "What of the future?" According to Porter "the central economic concern of every nation should be the capacity of its economy to upgrade so that firms achieve more sophisticated competitive advantages and higher productivity. Only in this way can there be a rising standard of living and economic prosperity."
This book is an impressive piece of research and Porter gets assistance from over 30 research assistants from all around the world. The book is not a simple read due to the amount of information provided and the length of the book. For readers who have read Porter's previous masterpieces I would like to stress that this book is considerably different than his previous masterpieces. It focuses less on industries and companies themselves, but more on national, international, and governmental issues. This book shows the author's education and training (Harvard PhD in economics). Still, the book is an impressive piece of work, although not for the fainthearted.
Rating: 5
Summary: Why Certain Countries Make What They Make
Comment: Michael Porter with "The Competitive Advantage of Nations" deserves to be considered with the likes of Adam Smith and Milton Friedman in the pantheon of economists. Porter has presented with this book exactly how states like the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan have risen to the top of the heap in certain industries and remain constrained in others.
In a word, what each country that has achieved a competitive advantage in a particular industry has going for it is competition. Domestic competition is what pushed these countries to the forefront in their respective industries. What's more is that Porter makes a convincing case that the current national champion model of economic growth is doomed to failure precisely because it wipes out domestic competition. The countries that most often practice the national champion model of economic growth are the ones that have remained the most backward or have stopped growing. Porter does give one example of where this is not the case, tires. Tires are an exception where national champions work well because no country in the world has much of a domestically competitive tire market that would give them an advantage.
Furthermore, Porter describes the life-cycle of national industries. They go from nascent competition to increased competition for an expanding market to increased innovation to stagnation to consolidation, and then decline. He goes into detail with several industries in several countries. My favorite analysis that Porter undertakes is of the ceramic tile industry. Two countries have become the primary manufacturers and designers of ceramic tiles: Italy and Spain. These two countries have national cultures and economic advantages that play right into ceramic tiles. Porter expertly explains why Spain and Italy have come to dominate this industry when they have been so inept in other industries.
Porter has written the definitive book on national competitive advantage. "The Competitive Advantage of Nations" should be required reading for all government personnel around the world.
Rating: 5
Summary: Virtuosic analysis of national productivity and technology
Comment: Forty to fifty years ago economists and political theorists did much armwaving about what makes nations competitive. In the past 20 years tools like analysis of patents, R&D expenditures, the numbers of scientifically educated people, have provided more quantitative insight. To these tools Porter adds realistic analyses of top industries in various countries - from shoes and couture in Italy, to Silicon Valley in the U.S. He points out that the fastest growth comes when favorable factors are concentrated in centers where diverse groups - industrial, academic, sometimes government or traditional industries come together and have intense interactions. This book glitters with insights and ideas. The author is among the leading US analysists of economic performance, heading a study discipline at Harvard and working with the National Bureau of Economic Research
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Title: COMPETITIVE STRATEGY : TECHNIQUES FOR ANALYZING INDUSTRIES AND COMPETITORS by Michael E. Porter ISBN: 0684841487 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $37.50 |
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Title: Competitive Advantage : Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance by Michael E. Porter ISBN: 0684841460 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $37.50 |
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Title: Michael E. Porter on Competition by Michael E. Porter ISBN: 0875847951 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: October, 1998 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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Title:Clusters and the New Economics of Competition by Michael E. Porter ASIN: B00005RZ7U Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: 24 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $6.00 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $6.00 |
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Title:From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy by Michael E. Porter ASIN: B00005RZ1N Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: 24 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $6.00 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $6.00 |
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