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Sustainable Competitiveness at the National, Regional, and Firm Levels

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Responsible Consumption and Production

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

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Synonyms

Competitive advantage; Competition; Firm-level competitiveness; National competitiveness; Regional competitiveness

Definition

The survival and success of organizations and various agents increasingly depend on competitiveness, broadly defined as the ability to compete. Competition enables the efficient functioning of markets and adds pressure on organizations to improve their existing goods and services and innovate new ones (Berger 2008). The term competitiveness originates from the Latin word competer, which according to Webster’s English Dictionary means involvement in a business rivalry for markets. However, competitiveness is a complex and multidimensional concept commonly applied at multiple levels, for example, those of national, regional, and firm. A common conception is that competitiveness is by its nature a relative notion, inherently implying the aim of competing to perform better compared to rivals in terms of, for example, access to resources. The meaning and...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

    Johanna Kirjavainen & Natalia Saukkonen

Authors
  1. Johanna Kirjavainen
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  2. Natalia Saukkonen
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Johanna Kirjavainen or Natalia Saukkonen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. FTZ-ALS, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences FTZ-ALS, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal

  2. University of Aveiro , Aveiro, Portugal

    Ulisses Azeiteiro

  3. Ctr Neurosci & Cell Biology, 1 Floor, Univ Coimbra, Edf Fac Medicina, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  4. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo University Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  5. Ozyegin University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Gökcin Özuyar

  6. Centre for Work Related Studies, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

Section Editor information

  1. Dept of Industrial Management, Center for Innovation and Technology Research, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland

    Ulla Saari

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Kirjavainen, J., Saukkonen, N. (2019). Sustainable Competitiveness at the National, Regional, and Firm Levels. In: Leal, W., Azeiteiro, U., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P., Wall, T. (eds) Responsible Consumption and Production. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71062-4_4-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71062-4_4-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71062-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71062-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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