Porters National Diamond of Competitiveness as a Theoretical Framework - Essay Example

Different theoretical frameworks were reviewed, compared and the apparently most suitable framework for this particular industry in Europe, Porter’s national diamond model, was identified.
The research was designed to take place in three stages.
These are:
- The capture of measurable data through secondary research of government data, publications of trade associations, and company information.
- Structured telephone interviews with industry experts in the five selected countries to confirm or dismiss the findings of stage one and to gather further information about each specific country.
- Telephone questionnaires to capture ratings for the selected nation’s competitiveness from the management of tungsten carbide manufacturers within each country.
Quantitative methods were used to analyze quantitative secondary data and descriptive methods were used to analyze the captured qualitative data and to compare the different findings.
Findings:
The study proved that Porter’s national diamond of competitiveness is a valid theoretical framework to explain the competitiveness of tungsten carbide manufacturers in Sweden, the UK, Luxembourg, Germany, and Austria, and to compare these industries. This is mainly due to the fact that all of the selected nations are at a similar stage of industrial development, that all of the selected countries have to rely on created determinants of competitiveness, and that the tungsten carbide industry itself is relatively mature. The only underrepresented determinants in porter’s model are the regional European impact and international competition and the globalization of major manufacturers. It is suggested that additionally to government and chance, the factors of international competition (in the domestic market) and globalization could be added to porter’s model as influencing factors.
Research Limitations:
The major research limitations were the lack of official production figures and market sizes for the selected countries, partly due to deregulation of the industry and partly due to its historically secretive nature.