Competitiveness Index Research Articles

Модель оцінки конкурентоспроможності транспортно-логістичної системи в умовах цифрової трансформації економіки

Introduction. In modern conditions of development of the world economy, the digital economy is one of the most relevant and important factors in ensuring economic growth. The digital transformation of the economy is a primary direction of innovative development of socio-economic systems, and therefore a tool for creating long-term competitive advantages of the transport and logistics system. The article examines the issue of economic problems associated with obtaining an integrated assessment of the level of competitiveness of the transport and logistics system. The purpose of the article is to analyze the impact of the digitalization of the economy on the competitiveness of the transport and logistics system and to create a model for obtaining an integrated evaluation of its competitiveness based on factors that reflect the specifics of the services provided by the system in the conditions of the digital transformation of the economy. Research methods. The digital transformation of the transport and logistics system is carried out based on the implementation of digitalization at all levels of business processes of economic structures: from the optimization of the logistics of physical flows and the optimization of data exchange to customer service. To assess the level of competitiveness of the transport and logistics system, it is proposed to calculate the competitiveness index by group of services in the process of transporting material flow. The model for calculating the integrated indicator of the competitiveness of the transport and logistics system is described, which is a three-stage multifactor model. Results. The economic evaluation of the digital transformation of the development of logistics services in railway transport allows for specifying the specifics of service services and clarifying the possibilities of using logistics methods of service response in carrying out cargo transportation. This makes it necessary to clarify the place and role of service support of cargo flow in the transport and logistics system and points to bottlenecks that must be overcome in the future to increase the level of competitiveness not only of the system but also of the country as a whole. Conclusions. The development of the digital transformation of the transport and logistics system consists of solving various socio-economic and technological tasks, which include the emergence of new products and new markets; reduction of costs for conducting business activities; and increasing productivity and efficiency of logistics and transport processes. As a result is increased competition in the transport and logistics system.

Конкурентоспособност на българския зеленчуков сектор на световния пазар

Depending on the scope of the concept of competitiveness, it is used in a variety of contexts in economic research, although there is a lack of a precise and generally accepted definition of what exactly it entails. In this study, competitiveness is considered from the point of view of market performance, using the developed theoretical framework for measuring the performance of an individual country or sector of the national economy, based on the definition of the Canadian Competitiveness Group: “The ability to sustainably win and maintain market share”. Two concepts are laid down in it – about the dynamics of market share and profit formation in order to achieve sustainable development over time. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the competitiveness of the Bulgarian vegetable production sector on the world market, to clearly note its change in a dynamic aspect. The research specifically adopted the methodology developed by B. Ivanov for calculating a composite index of competitiveness, containing two main components - production and value. The analysis shows the place of Bulgarian vegetable production in the national agriculture and in the world vegetable market, the dynamics and changes that reflect in the competitiveness of the sector during the years of EU membership – 2007 – 2021. The comprehensive assessment of the competitiveness of the vegetable crop sector in Bulgaria on world markets defines it as relatively low. The results obtained from the research confirm and complement the assessment of the competitiveness of the “Vegetable production” sector in Bulgaria, made by other Bulgarian researchers. Despite the favorable climate and natural features in our country, as well as our traditions in the production of vegetables, the sector is deteriorating its market position and the dynamics of competitiveness are rather negative. The research clearly shows that Bulgaria is losing positions in the production of vegetables, while at the same time its dependence on imports and foreign prices is increasing. The sector of vegetable production is among the vulnerable sectors of the Bulgarian agriculture, as the permanent negative trends of reduction of areas and production are projected in the inability to meet consumer needs in our country from high-quality domestic production. The future development of the sector and the increase of its competitiveness will depend on many factors, some of the most important of which are the extent to which vegetable producers will be able to be flexible and adapt to achieve the new environmental policy objectives; to what extent they will be able to respond to modern trends in agricultural production – digitalization, ecological/biological agriculture, new technological solutions.

Solutions to improve quality, create breakthrough in training, fostering, attracting and employing talents in Vietnam

In order to create the possibility of economic breakthrough development, remove economic institutional bottlenecks, release resources, and develop the economy quickly and sustainably in Vietnam in the coming time, it is impossible not to mention solutions to improve the quality, create breakthroughs in training and fostering talents. This is one of the important solutions in the context that the Party and State require the application and development of science and technology more and more extensively in all fields and all sectors in Vietnam. The article focuses on researching the the political basis, legal basis, and practical basis for training, fostering, attracting and employing talents in Vietnam. Meanwhile, statistics on undergraduate and postgraduate training in the period of 2016–2022, the training level of the workforce and the Global Talent Competitiveness Index show that Vietnam has not achieved many positive changes in training, fostering, attracting and employing talents as expected. The article is approached from many different aspects, including the perspective of leaders and managers at the head of state agencies, the perspective of businesses and the perspective of the university teaching staff and scientific research workers themselves. On that basis, the article points out the key contents that need addressing so as to build solutions to improve quality, create breakthroughs in training, fostering, attracting and employing talents in Vietnam in the context of international integration and science and technology development. The main contributions of the article focus on the identification of the concept of “talent”, the criteria for determining “talent” and the renewal of awareness of policies and laws on training, fostering, attracting, employing, introducing and recommending talents.

A TOPSIS analysis of regional competitiveness at European level

PurposeThe measurement of regional competitiveness is becoming essential for policymakers to address territorial disparities, while considering the issue of correlations among indicators. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to measure regional competitiveness using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) by considering different distance measures and two levels of analysis to provide a comparative and comprehensive measurement of regional competitiveness in Europe.Design/methodology/approachThe authors apply TOPSIS based on three different distance measures (the Manhattan, the Euclidean and the Mahalanobis distance measures) to the regions of the EU Regional Competitiveness Index (RCI) 2019, which is taken as the frame of reference.FindingsThe authors replicate the RCI by using TOPSIS with a less preferred choice of distance measure, indicating TOPSIS as a valuable method for policymakers in the analysis of regional competitiveness. The authors argue in favour of the Mahalanobis distance measure as the best of the three, as it considers correlations among macro-economic indicators.Originality/valueThis study aims to make three contributions. Firstly, by replicating the RCI by means of TOPSIS with a less preferred choice of distance measure, the paper provides a benchmark for future research on regional competitiveness. Secondly, by suggesting the use of TOPSIS with the use of the Mahalanobis distance measure, the authors show how to measure regional competitiveness by taking into account correlations among pillars. Thirdly, the authors argue in favour of considering clusters of regions when measuring regional competitiveness.

A Classification Methodology for Assessing Countries in Terms of Tourism Competitiveness

Tourism industry is important for national economies, and, in this regard, it is vital to monitor its competitiveness. The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), developed and reported by the World Economic Forum, serves this purpose by providing a consistent framework, explanatory factors, and corresponding data sets. In this paper we exploit the past data sets of this index, first, to verify that in several countries, competitiveness in tourism and travel industries hardly changes over time. Next, we identify countries that show consistency in travel–tourism competitiveness and separate them into classes of best, worst, intermediate, and ambiguous past performance. Building on such a classification, we apply linear discriminant analysis (LDA) as an alternative to the TTCI computational framework in order to compose the new synthetic index TTCI-LDA, which assesses countries’ competitiveness. The analysis of country scores obtained from this index has revealed that ICT readiness and touristic service infrastructure are important for tourism competitiveness. The score thresholds for the best–worst country cases in each class provide additional useful information for management, benchmarking, and policy decision making.

Investigating the Relationship among Organizational Culture, Job Motivation, Organizational Citizenship Behaviour, and Job Performance: Indonesian Public Sector Context

The inadequate performance of Indonesia’s public sector is demonstrated by the decline in ranking on the Global Competitiveness Index from 2017 to 2019 and the lack of research on OCB in the public sector, considering that most studies focus on the private sector. The objective of this study is to explore the correlation between organizational culture, work motivation, work performance, and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) within Indonesia’s public sector organizations. By using Structural Equation Modeling Partial Least Square (SEM-PLS), data from 189 public sector respondents were analyzed. The research tool was verified using tests for convergent validity, construct validity, and discriminant validity. The results indicate that organizational culture impacts job performance, OCB, and job motivation positively and significantly. Job motivation also has a positive and significant influence on OCB but is not significant in relation to job performance. Additionally, OCB positively and significantly affects job performance. This research addresses a gap in the existing literature by presenting a fresh perspective on the relationship between these factors within the public sector. The results of this study expand upon previous investigations and offer valuable insights for professionals seeking to enhance organizational performance in the public sector, particularly in terms of effectively implementing organizational culture and motivation strategies.

Demographic and Socioeconomic Determinants Affecting Uses of the Internet in Indonesia

The digital divide in Indonesia is rather big. This study aims to investigate the demographic and socioeconomic determinants affecting the quantity of uses of the Internet in Indonesia. The data used are based on the National Socioeconomic Survey in 2021. The object of the analysis is population aged 15 years and above possessing at least one digital gadget. The dependent variable is the purpose of the Internet use. The independent variables included gender, age, number of household members, marital status, education, employment status, place of dwelling, island of residence, and number of types of digital gadgets owned. A binary logistic regression model was employed in the analysis. The results of the study indicate that a higher quantity of uses of the Internet is associated with a female sex, younger age, smaller number of household members, unmarried status, higher education, dwelling in urban areas, living in Java Island, and owning more than one type of digital gadgets. These findings suggest the need to improve access to the Internet among men, older people, ever-married individuals, rural dwellers, and Outer Java inhabitants, to promote family planning, to improve education and accessibility of more types of digital gadgets in order to bridge the digital divide and to boost the global competitiveness index 4.0 in Indonesia.

The lasting impact of virtual interviews on surgical fellowship applicants

PurposeSurgical fellowship interviews shifted to a virtual platform in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While virtual interviews provide convenience, they also pose difficulties for programs and raise potential barriers for applicants. This study compares in-person to virtual interviews and characterizes the impact on programs and applicants.MethodsIn-person (2007–2019) and virtual (2020–2022) fellowship application data were extracted from publicly available NRMP Specialties Matching Service data. Fellowship programs included surgical critical care, surgical oncology, colorectal, pediatric, thoracic, and vascular surgery. Competitiveness was assessed using a validated normalized competitiveness index (NCI).ResultsSince virtual interviews, rankings per applicant, a surrogate for program interview workload, increased for all fellowships except pediatric surgery. The most competitive subspecialties now include colorectal, pediatric, and thoracic surgery. For non-US MDs in these subspecialties, applicants per position decreased (pediatric), match rate decreased (thoracic), and NCI increased (thoracic) under virtual interviewing. However, for the least competitive subspecialties, non-US MDs had increased rankings per applicant (critical care and vascular), increased match rate (critical care and surgical oncology), and decreased NCI (surgical oncology) with virtual interviewing.ConclusionsSince the virtual platform was implemented, applicants have interviewed at and ranked more programs, subsequently increasing program workload. While this is positive for many applicants, a differential pattern of securing a fellowship emerged for non-US MD applicants. This finding is important for fellowship program directors to consider and ensure non-US MD applicants are not marginalized with the virtual platform.Level of EvidenceIII

Moving towards a Global Agricultural Competitiveness Index (GACI): A conceptual model

Moving towards a Global Agricultural Competitiveness Index (GACI): A conceptual model

The Evaluation of Climate Change Competitiveness via DEA Models and Shannon Entropy: EU Regions.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the efficiency of climate change competitiveness via a case study on EU regions by using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) model and Shannon entropy. First, on the same premise as similar composite indicators, we develop a DEA model to assess the relative performance of the regions in climate change competitiveness. Then, we extend our calculations with a DEA-like model and Shannon entropy to derive global estimates of a new competitiveness index by using common weights. Results show that the proposed DEA-Entropy model enables the construction of a regional climate change competitiveness index among all regions via a set of common weights. The proposed model's common weight structure demonstrates more discriminative power compared to the weights obtained through pure DEA or DEA-like methods. In order to validate the proposed DEA-Entropy model, it was applied to 120 EU regions. The results are meaningful for the regions to improve their competitiveness.

Emerging Economies: An Investigation of National Culture and Sustainable Development

The current study highlights the significance of national culture in advocating sustainable development, aligning with the goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda. It draws upon theories from various perspectives, including Classical Marxism, System Justification, Weber and the Ethic of Protestantism, and Postmaterialism. By examining the relationship between national culture and sustainable development, particularly in emerging economies, it addresses a gap in existing discourse. Using data from The Culture Factor Group website and the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index provided by Solability in 2023, this study investigates how six of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions relate to the sustainable competitiveness of emerging economies. The findings, based on a sample of 21 emerging economies sourced from diverse online platforms, indicate a significant relationship between national culture and sustainable development, particularly in terms of sustainable competitiveness. This study underscores the importance of recognizing culture as a key factor in achieving sustainable development goals, supporting its inclusion as a fundamental aspect in shaping policies and strategies aimed at fostering sustainable development in emerging economies.

Assessing the Competitive Advantage of Ecuador’s Shrimp Industry in the Global Market Using the Balassa Index for 2018–2022

Increased shrimp production in Ecuador might significantly boost the nation’s economic development while allowing for the sustainable exploitation of its natural resources. Business owners in Ecuador still require diagnostic tools for investment, marketing, and production planning. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the competitive position of Ecuador’s shrimp industry and direct competitors in the global shrimp market. Export data on shrimp from the International Trade Centre and Ecuador’s National Chamber of Aquaculture were used for the top five shrimp-exporting countries. The period 2018–2022 was chosen as the information was available at the start of the research. Balassa’s methodology was employed for the competitiveness analysis, and statistical analysis was conducted to validate the findings. The results show Ecuador has a significant competitive edge compared to its main rivals, Argentina, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam. This analysis indicates that Ecuador has the potential to win bigger market shares in the global shrimp trade despite being placed 70th and 97th, respectively, in the 2017–2018 Global Competitiveness Index and the 2018 Logistics Performance Index. Therefore, it is necessary to establish strategic production plans for Ecuadorian shrimp enterprises to adapt to the global shrimp trade demands and to advance production and supply chain technology so that Ecuador can access additional worldwide markets.

Exploring the concept of tourism competitiveness across the OECD countries

ABSTRACT The present study takes a comprehensive approach to investigate how a new set of untested determinants affects a destination's competitiveness across the OECD countries. Cross-section analyses were implemented for 2009, 2015 and 2021. We conceptualize destination competitiveness in terms of tourism's direct contribution to GDP and energy efficiency. We used two discrete and profitable tourism segments, investments and internal consumption in the travel and tourism industry as explanatory variables. To strengthen our scientific approach, we include the travel and tourism competitiveness index (ttci) in our specifications. This set of explanatory variables is scarce if not omitted in relevant tourism studies. Research findings indicate that investments in tourism lower energy consumption rates, whereas increases in the travel and tourism competitiveness index increase the direct contribution of tourism to a country's GDP. Moreover, as the tourism and travel competitiveness index increases, energy consumption decreases in all three reference years. Based on the results, practical implications indicate that policymakers and tourism planners should create a friendly and appealing investment environment, whereas energy efficiency should dominate every effort of further tourism development. This comprehensive approach instils confidence in the reliability and relevance of our findings for the tourism sector.

The impact of strategic infrastructure development of Bali on the economic growth

Bali is the most famous tourist destination in the world, and this popularity has led to a significant rise in the island’s economy. The rise in income has also driven an increase in demand for infrastructure. Moreover, the Bali regional competitiveness index, in the infrastructure pillar, shows a lower figure compared to the national level. So that the Bali Provincial Government focuses on building an infrastructure strategy. This research uses the Input-Output Table (IOT) model, namely the 2016 Bali Province IOT which will be released in 2021. This analysis was chosen because IOT assumes that one sector can be an input for other sectors, in terms of this this is the construction sector. With investment in strategic and monumental infrastructure marking the New Era of Bali, it will result in additional Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of IDR 18.7 trillion, or in other words Bali’s GRDP will increase by 9.71% from the condition of no investment. This shows that infrastructure development is able to boost Bali’s economy. Further research is needed to be able to qualitatively analyze development infrastructure strategies in Bali. Remembering that a qualitative approach is also important to be able to analyze in depth.

Dijital Ekonomi ve Rekabetçilik: Seçilmiş Asya ülkeleri Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme

The purpose of this study is to provide an assessment of the status and development of the digital economy and digital competitiveness in selected Asian economies. Today's economy has become more digital due to scientific and technological developments. The digital economy is an economy based on digital technologies, knowledge and innovation. It involves the primary use of information technology hardware, software, applications, and telecommunications in all sectors of the economy. The importance of the research is that it presents an approach to determine the competitive position of countries in terms of digitalization. The study assessed the digital competitiveness positions of selected Asian countries on the basis of specially selected indicators. Eight Asian countries were included in the study: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and China. The study examined and compared the Network Readiness Index, Digital Competitiveness Index and E-Government Index. In addition, the World Bank, UNCTAD and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) databases were used as digital economy indicators. When the indices and indicators included in the study to evaluate competition in the digital economy are evaluated as a whole, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea have come to the forefront among the countries studied, while Indonesia and Thailand have lagged behind these countries. As a result, the study discusses what needs to be done for countries to maintain and improve their digital competitiveness and use modern digital technologies in all sectors of the economy.

Polish Dairy Farm Transformations and Competitiveness 20 Years after Poland's Accession to the European Union.

Poland is one of the leading milk producers in the EU, being the fifth largest after countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. From Poland's accession to the European Union in 2004 up to 2022, Polish milk production experienced dynamic development. In this, there occurred a strong decline in the number of dairy farms (by -78%) and the number of cows (by -21%), an increase in dairy herd size (3.5 times) and increase in milk production (+60%) and milk yield per cow (by +62%). These were among the highest growth dynamics among the analysed countries. As a result of this significant transformation, Poland maintained an important position in milk exports, with a 31% export share in production in 2022. The scale of milk production was the basic factor determining the efficiency and competitiveness of dairy farms in Poland. Milk yield, farmland productivity, labour productivity, milk price, and the Corrected Competitiveness Index (based on labour and land opportunity costs) all showed a positive relationship with cow herd size on the farm. Milk production is highly uncompetitive for smaller farms (<15 cows). Despite substantial public support, the smaller farms, where subsidies equal up to 47% of total production value, could not earn sufficient income to cover the cost of capital, risk, and management in 2008, and even more so in 2021. This is because the farm income is too small to cover the extremely high opportunity cost of labour. The larger farms (with 30 cows and more) are competitive and responsible for the majority (~60-70%) of milk produced and delivered to the market. The most challenging from the sectoral policy point of view are medium farms (10-29 cows), whose share in production and deliveries is still important. To survive as economically viable units, these farms have to increase in scale and improve productivity. Otherwise, they will be gradually supplanted by larger farms.

Performance Analysis of Vietnamese Provinces’ FDI Attractiveness: An Application of DEA and Malmquist Indexes

Vietnam has emerged as a highly promising destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, experiencing a commendable and consistent influx of FDI in recent years. However, this surge is not uniformly distributed across provinces. This study applies the data envelopment analysis (DEA) and Malmquist index measurement to evaluate FDI attractiveness of provinces in Vietnam from 2012 to 2020. Based on DEA, the analysis takes the provinces’ five indicators (Labor Force, Gross Regional Domestic Product, Provincial Competitiveness Index, FDI by capital, and FDI by cases) into account in order to identify provinces ripe for targeted improvement as well as those that can serve as exemplars for others. Next, Malmquist indexes are derived from DEA assessment to observe the evolution of each province during 2012 to 2020, and then decomposed to uncover the cause of performance change. We find that only four provinces are able to achieve perfect efficiency in attracting FDI, including three provinces from South East region: Vung Tau, Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh, and Ha Tinh. Nevertheless, nearly 80% of the provinces improve their performance. The methodology and findings in this paper can provide significant insights for policymakers to devise mechanisms to attract FDI in their locality.

Identifying Simultaneous Equation Modelling for the Digital Competitiveness Index (IDSD) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in their Influence on Economic Digitalization

Technological advances are causing rapid and comprehensive changes, especially in the digital economy sector. The strength of a society's digital competitiveness is an important asset to support the growth of the national digital economy and attract foreign direct investment. This study aims to identify the simultaneous relationship between the Digital Competitiveness Index (IDSD) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The method used is Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS) to overcome endogeneity problems in existing regression models, using STATA 17 software for calculations. The data analyzed are panel data from 34 provinces in Indonesia for 4 years (2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023). The analysis shows that in the FDI model, IDSD, GRDP growth rate, and non-oil and gas exports have a significant effect on FDI. However, in the IDSD model, FDI has no significant effect on IDSD, while fintech lending and ICT capability of the community have a significant effect on IDSD. Based on the results, there is no simultaneous relationship between FDI and IDSD.

The Role of Tax Officials in Mitigating Company’s Tax Obstacles

This study aims to examine the role of tax official in mitigating the positive relation between firm’s informal payment on tax obstacle. As the general discourses in tax avoidance, regulation, and compliance, the role of tax official is still had limited attention. In this regard, the examination based on the data of 229 firms from the World Bank Enterprise Survey 2019, specifically in two countries (i.e., Estonia and Latvia) which are listed as the top two countries with the highest International Tax Competitiveness Index. Accordingly, this study found that in the country well-established tax management, firm’s informal payment is positively affecting the level of its tax obstacle, while professionality and transparency of tax official is reporting a negative effect. Interactionally, tax official is weakening the positive effect of informal payment on tax obstacle. In general, this denote and provide evidence for the important role of professional and transparent tax official in the tax management. Several discussions further been elaborated in both theoretical and practical to enrich the topic of tax management.

Determinants of Fisheries Trade Competitiveness: The Case of Malaysia

Fisheries constitute one of the most globalised food industries and significantly contribute to a nation’s socioeconomic development and international food security. Malaysia is a small open economy endowed with fisheries resources; however, the rapid growth of international trade has changed the patterns of fish trade dependence. It has now become a fish importer and experienced a critical fish trade deficit since 2009, implicating eroding trade competitiveness of Malaysian fisheries in the global market. The existing empirical studies on competitiveness conclude that Malaysia loses the competitive status in the international fish market, but the Trade Competitiveness Index (TCI) and its determinants have not been thoroughly explored. Hence, this present study aims to examine the short and long run effects of trade openness, the exchange rate and fishery employment on the TCI of Malaysian fisheries during 1976– 2018, using an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach. The findings conclude that Malaysia has lost its trade competitiveness in terms of TCI in the global fishery market. The ARDL results show that an appreciation of the exchange rate as well as more trade openness and fishery employment enhance the TCI in the short run (i.e., a few years), but have negative effects in the long run. To ameliorate trade competitiveness, higher restrictions on fish imports are recommended, as well as more adoption of science and technology in fisheries in the long run, given the nature of the exchange rate, appreciation policies are proposed in the short run.