Regional competitiveness in the network-economy

Dinya, László

In the last few decades, different organisational networks have played an increasingly important role in developing the so-called “network economy”. The networks of organisations (companies, institutions and non-profit organisations) are the most important factors in becoming (or remaining) competitive in the business. We have investigated this process via a combination of M. Porter’s well-known models (the model of competition forces and the “diamond-model”). We have found that there are certain relationships among some forces of competition and some sources of local competitive advantages, whose resultant defined the competitive position for the various parties. It would be more apt in the future to speak about competing networks instead of the competition of individual organisations. We have introduced two different classes of organisational networks: the so-called spontaneous (informal) and formal networks. In the absence of suitable research methodology, only the formal networks have been studied to date. The experiences of functioning networks are very useful for regions facing the following questions: what are the basics of successful networking, what kinds of competitive advantages do they give to the regions, and how to establish new networks? We have tried to summarise and evaluate these experiences from a regional point of view.

Full article