Effects of Global Communication on National Competitiveness: Evidence from Twitter Communication Network

Abstract

Drawing on a social capital perspective, central countries in global communication networks can be more competitive because they can easily and quickly obtain valuable information through the network. Based on data from Twitter’s Public Streams and the Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum, this study empirically investigates how the centrality of countries in Twitter communication network impacts their competitiveness. A series of analyses were conducted to test the effects of centrality on national competitiveness. The results show that the centrality of countries in Twitter communication network has significant and positive effects on national competitiveness. Thus, we suggest that the global communication activity of citizens is critical in enhancing national competitiveness. By investigating how a country’s position in social networks affects national competitiveness through analyzing the social structures of Twitter communication network, this study provides motivation to further empirically explore national competitiveness from the social network perspective. Position identification of a country in the global communications network provides policymakers and practitioners with beneficial information to better understand the state of their country in relation to other nations. To improve national competitiveness, they should make more economic and cultural efforts to improve the global communication of their citizens.