Sustainable competitiveness as a new economic category – definition and measurement assessment
Abstract
The main purpose of the paper is to assess the level of EU countries’ ability to compete in a sustainable manner and to compare these results with achievements in the area of sustainable competitive position. In the paper, the definition of the new economic category – sustainable competitiveness and its main components: sustainable competitive capacity and sustainable competitive position, as well as these new terms’ measurement proposal were presented. The study is also an attempt to the exploration of relationship existing between those categories. For this purpose, the selected statistical methods were applied. The taxonomic measure of development as well as the correlation coefficients, were used to measure the multilevel relationship between those considered areas. Until now, those categories were presented only in the context of examining the countries’ ability to compete sustainably. However, the aspects of sustainable competitive position have been completely ignored. That’s why it should be emphasized that this kind of investigation is a novelty in the area of sustainable competitiveness. The research results confirmed the existence of relationship between the various areas that consist to the holistic concept of sustainable competitiveness. These relationships are not always strong though and this is the crucial fact for further research in this area.
First published online 1 October 2020
Keyword : sustainable development, sustainable competitive capacity, sustainable competitive position, sustainable competitiveness, strength of relation, typological groups, similarity of development
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Aiginger, K., & Vogel, J. (2015). Competitiveness: from a misleading concept to a strategy supporting Beyond GDP goals. Competitiveness Review, 25(5), 497–523. https://doi.org/10.1108/CR-06-2015-0052
Ajanovic, A. (2014). Promoting environmentally benign electric vehicles. Energy Procedia, 57, 807–816. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2014.10.289
Atif, S. M., Srivastav, M., Sauytbekova, M., & Arachchige, U. K. (2012). Globalization and Income Inequality: A Panel Data Analysis of 68 Countries. ZBW – Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Leibniz Informations zentrum Wirtschaft, Kiel und Hamburg. http://hdl.handle.net/10419/65664
Balkytė, A., & Tvaronavičienė, M. (2010). Perception of competitiveness in the context of sustainable development: Facets of “sustainable competitiveness”. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 11(2), 341–365. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2010.17
Berger, T. (2008). Concepts ofnational competitiveness. Journal of International Business and Economy, 9(1), 91–111.
Bilbao-Osorio, B., Blanke, J., Companella, E., Crotti, R., & Drzeniek, M. (2013). Assessing the sustainable competitiveness of nations. In The global competitiveness report 2013–2014 (pp. 53–82). World Economic Forum. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2013-14.pdf
Blanke, J., Crotti, R., Drezniek Hanouz, M., Fidanza, B., & Thierry, G. (2011). The long term view: Developing a framework for assessing sustainable competitiveness. In The global competitiveness report 2011–2012 (pp. 51–74). World Economic Forum. http://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-2011-2012/
Borys, T., & Czaja, S. (2009). Research on sustainable development in Polish research centers/ Badania nad zrównoważonym rozwojem w polskich ośrodkach naukowych. In D. Kiełczewski (Ed.), Od koncepcji ekorozwoju do ekonomii zrównoważonego rozwoju [From the concept of eco-development to the economy of sustainable development]. Wydawnictwo Wyższej Szkoły Ekonomicznej w Białymstoku.
Calabrese, A., Costa, R., Levialdi, G. N., & Menichini, T. (2019). Materiality analysis in sustainability reporting: a tool for directing corporate sustainability towards emerging economic, environmental and social opportunities. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 25(5), 1016–1038. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2019.10550
Cheba, K. (2019). Zrównoważona międzynarodowa konkurencyjność krajów Unii Europejskiej. Studium teoretyczno-empiryczne [Sustainable international competitiveness of EU countries. Theoretical and empirical study]. CeDeWu.
Cheba, K., & Bąk, I. D. (2019). The application of multi-criteria taxonomy to comparative analysis of structures of sustainable development. Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Oeconomica, 5(344), 29–48. https://doi.org/10.18778/0208-6018.344.03
Cheba, K., & Szopik-Depczyńska, K. (2019). Sustainable competitiveness and responsible innovations – the case of the European Union Countries. Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics, 549, 139–150. https://doi.org/10.15611/pn.2019.6.11
Corrigan, G., Crotti, R., Drzeniek, M., & Serin, C. (2014). Assessing progress toward sustainable competitiveness. In The Global Competitiveness Report 2014–2015. World Economic Forum, Geneva.
Čiegis, R., Grundey, D., & Štreimikiene, D. (2005). Economic aspects of cities sustainable development strategic planning. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 11(4), 260–269. https://doi.org/10.3846/13928619.2005.9637706
Del Río, P., Carrillo-Hermosilla, J., Könnölä, T., & Bleda, M. (2016). Resources, capabilities and competences for eco-innovation. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 22(2), 274–292. https://doi.org/10.3846/20294913.2015.1070301
Eurostat. (2018). Retrieved December, 2019, from http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat
Foxon, T. J., Pearson, P., Makuch, Z., & Mata, M. (2005). Transforming policy processes to promote sustainable innovation: Some guiding principles (Report for policy-makers). ESRC Sustainable Technologies Programme, Imperial College London.
Grundey, D. (2008). Applying sustainability principles in the economy. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 14(2), 101–106. https://doi.org/10.3846/1392-8619.2008.14.101-106
Guijarro, F., & Poyatos, J. A. (2018). Designing a sustainable development goal index through a goal programming model: The case of EU–28 countries. Sustainability, 10(9), 3167. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10093167
Hämäläinen, T. J. (2003). National competitiveness and economic growth: The changing determinants of economic performance in the world economy. Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.
Hellwig, Z. (1968). Zastosowanie metody taksonomicznej do typologicznego podziału krajów ze względu na poziom rozwoju oraz zasoby i strukturę wykwalifikowanych kadr [Application of the taxonomic method to the typological division of countries by level of their development as well as resources and structure of qualified personnel]. Przegląd Statystyczny, XV(4), 307–327.
Huggins, R., Izushi, H., & Thompson, P. (2013). Regional competitiveness: Theories and methodologies for empirical analysis. Journal of CENTRUM Cathedra: the Business and Economics Research Journal, 6(2), 155–172. https://doi.org/10.7835/jcc-berj-2013-0086
Ketels, C. (2016). Review of competitiveness frameworks: An analysis conducted for the Irish National Competitiveness Council. Dublin. http://www.hbs.edu/
Kondyli, J. (2010). Measurement and evaluation of sustainable development: A composite indicator for the islands of the North Aegean region, Greece. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 30(6), 347–356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2009.08.006
Kuc-Czarnecka, M. (2019). Sensitivity analysis as a tool to optimise Human Development Index. Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, 14(3), 425–440. https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2019.020
Kukuła, K. (2000). Metoda unitaryzacji zerowanej [The zero-unitarization method]. Wydaw. Nauk. PWN.
Lall, S. (2001). Competitiveness indices and developing countries: An economic evaluation of the global competitiveness report. World Development, 29(9), 1501–1525. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(01)00051-1
Leonard, D. R. P., Clarke, K. R., Somerfield, P. J., & Warwick, R. M. (2006). The application of an indicator based on taxonomic distinctness for UK marine biodiversity assessments. Journal of Environmental Management, 78(1), 52–62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2005.04.008
Littig, B., & Griessler, E. (2005). Social sustainability: a catchword between political pragmatism and social theory. International Journal of Sustainable Development, 8(1–2), 65–79. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJSD.2005.007375
Lu, S. L., & Sexton, M. (2008). The evolution of sustainable development. In M. Murray, & A. Dainty (Eds.), Corporate social responsibility in the construction industry, (pp. 191–213). Taylor & Francis. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/702/2/Sexton_Barrett_and_Lu.pdf
Malina, A. (2004). Multidimensional analysis of the spatial differentiation of the structure of the Polish economy by voivodships (translated from Polsh). Wydawnictwo AE w Krakowie.
Misala, J. (2011). Wielowymiarowa analiza przestrzennego zróżnicowania struktury gospodarki Polski według województw [International competitiveness of national economy] . PWE.
Młodak, A. (2006). Analiza taksonomiczna w statystyce regionalnej [Taxonomic analysis in regional statistics]. Centrum Doradztwa i Informacji DIFIN.
Młodak, A., Józefowski, T., & Wawrowski, Ł. (2016). Zastosowanie metod taksonomicznych w estymacji wskaźników ubóstwa [The use of taxonomic methods in estimating poverty indicators]. Wiadomości Statystyczne, LXI(2), 1–24. https://stat.gov.pl/czasopisma/wiadomosci-statystyczne/archiwum/wiadomosci-statystyczne-nr-22016-657,7,11.html https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0014.0900
Mori, K., & Christodoulou, A. (2012). Review of sustainability indices and indicators: Towards a new City Sustainability Index (CSI). Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 32(1), 94–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2011.06.001
Neter, J., Wasserman, W., & Kutner, M. H. (1985). Applied linear statistical models: Regression, analysis of variance, and experimental designs. Richard D. Irwin, Inc. https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/17700595
Nowak, E. (1990). Taxonomic methods in the classification of socio-economic objects (translated from Polish). PWE.
Rogalska, E. (2018). Multiple-criteria analysis of regional entrepreneurship conditions in Poland. Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, 13(4), 707–723. https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2018.034
Rutkauskas, A. (2008). On the sustainability of regional competitiveness development considering risk. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 14(1), 89–99. https://doi.org/10.3846/2029-0187.2008.14.89-99
Scheurer, J. (2001). Urban ecology, innovations in housing policy and the future of cities: Towards sustainability in neighbourhood communities. Murdoch University.
Schrijver, N. J. (2008). The evolution of sustainable development in international law: inceptiom, meaning and status. The Pocket Books of The Hague Academy of International Law, 2. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789047444466
Shrivastava, P. (1995). Environmental technologies and competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 16(S1), 183–200. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250160923
Schwab, K., & Sala-i-Martin, X. (2012). The global competitiveness report 2012–2013. World Economic Forum, Geneva. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2012-13.pdf
Siche, J. R., Agostinho, F., Ortega, E., & Romeiro, A. (2008). Sustainability of nations by indices: Comparative study between environmental sustainability index, ecological footprint and the emergy performance indices. Ecological Economics, 66(4), 628–637. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.10.023
Stiglitz, J. E., Sen, A., & Fitoussi, J. P. (2010). Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress. Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress, Paris, France. http://home.iscte-iul.pt/~apad/MTISext/didacticos/GPD%20avaliax%20Franca.pdf
Szopik-Depczyńska, K., Cheba, K., Bąk, I., Stajniak, M., Simboli, A., & Ioppolo, G. (2018). The study of relationship in a hierarchical structure of EU sustainable development indicators. Ecological Indicators, 90, 120–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.03.002
Thalassinos, E., Cristea, M., & Noja, G. G. (2019). Measuring active ageing within the European Union: Implications on economic development. Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, 14(4), 591–609. https://doi.org/10.24136/eq.2019.028
Vashisth, A., Kumar, R., & Sharma, S. (2018). Major principles of sustainable transport system: A literature review. International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering Technology, 6(2). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323336900_Major_Principles_of_Sustainable_Transport_System_A_Literature_Review
Velten, S., Leventon, J., Jager, N., & Newig, J. (2015). What is sustainable agriculture? A Systematic review. Sustainability, 7(6), 7833–7865. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7067833
Zioło, M., Filipiak, B. Z., Bąk, I., & Cheba, K. (2019). How to design more sustainable financial systems: The roles of environmental, social, and governance factors in the decision-making process. Sustainability, 11(20), 5604. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205604