Competitiveness and emerging markets

Abstract

Purpose

The twenty first century is increasingly categorized as a century for hyper‐competitiveness. In the knowledge economy, any country can be the location of knowledge resource and it is increasingly becoming difficult to have national competitive advantages as compared to previous centuries. This paper seeks to study the competitiveness of emerging markets, particularly Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper obtains help form literature and recent competitiveness reports.

Findings

Emerging markets, particularly the group of BRIC countries, are increasingly becoming the growth driver of the global economy. In the Global Competitiveness Rankings of World Economic Forum, India is most competitive among BRICs, whereas in World Competitiveness Rankings of the IMD, China is most competitive followed by India, Brazil and Russia. In the knowledge economy Index and Knowledge Index, Russia is the leading player followed by Brazil, China and India.

Research limitations/implications

To maintain the growth story of emerging markets, competitiveness is a must. This issue needs to be further researched.

Practical implications

The paper finds that India and China are ahead of Russia and Brazil on competitiveness indices, but lag in knowledge indices. Thus, whereas Brazil and Russia need to focus on governance and business efficiency, India and China need to develop knowledge resources.

Originality/value

Emerging markets and competitiveness are important research issues and this paper tries to provide some basic understanding on competitiveness of emerging markets.

Citation

Pillania, R.K. (2009), "Competitiveness and emerging markets", Business Strategy Series, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 90-95. https://doi.org/10.1108/17515630910942214