Companies competitiveness: literature review, theories and models

Abstract

The evolution of the worldwide economy, the globalization of markets produced the increase of competitive tensions between companies and nations. In fact, this fierce international competition makes firms ameliorate their competitiveness persistently on the international market.

Competitiveness is a ubiquitous term in economic research, thus, numerous economic phenomena are assessed today by the criterion of competitiveness; that is to say depending on whether they are competitive or not competitive. While the term "competitiveness" is often used, there are still ambiguities around its conceptualization and problems in understanding its meaning; indeed, the concept is still confused with many other concepts which are generally erroneously attributed to the same content.

The literature review shows that competitiveness is a complex concept that constantly evolves according to market conditions and changes, but also according to the level of analysis conducted (macro, micro or meso-economic), that the concept of competitiveness is not static and remains subject to both national and international determinants and that there are several models and schemes to identify its sources and factors. In this regard, the main objective of this article is to provide an exhaustive review of the economic literature dealing with the concept of competitiveness at the company. The aim is to expose and analyze all the theoretical approaches and models related to competitiveness as well as the various criteria and sources of companies’ competitiveness.

JEL Classification : D00

Paper type: Theoretical Research