Antecedentes a Nivel Nacional

The competitive advantage model (Porter, 1990:1998) is based on the assumption that firms in particular industries have the ability to create and sustain competitive advantage in international terms. In his approach, Porter, basically, tried to answer why some nations succeed and others fail in international competition. He particularly analyzed the role of a nation’s economic environment, institutions and policies. Porter used productivity in his analysis as it is ‘the root cause of national capita income’

(Porter, 1998, p.6) in the long run of a nation’s standard of living and it is the only meaningful concept of competitiveness at the national level. Since international trade and foreign investment have both opportunities and threats to national productivity, he proposed the specialisation of industries and segments in which firms were relatively more productive in the economy. He analyzed relatively sophisticated industries and segments of industries involving complex technology and highly skilled human

resources, which offered the potential for high levels of productivity as well as

sustained productivity growth (Porter, 1998, p.10). Therefore, technology remained at the centre of the production process.

Porter uses the concept of the ‘home base’ for the nation “…in which the essential

competitive advantages of the enterprise are created and sustained. It is where a firm’s strategy is set and the core products and process technology are created and maintained…the home base will be the location of many of the most productive jobs, the core technologies, and the most advanced skills…(Porter, 1998, p.19)”. So

industry was the basic unit of analysis for understanding competition. Competition strategy was then linked to the understanding of the structure of the industry and how it was changing. Firms created competitive advantage by perceiving or discovering new and better ways (in terms of technology and innovation) to compete in an industry and bringing them to the market. According to Porter (Porter, 1998, pp. 45- 47), the most typical causes of innovations that shifted competitive advantage were:

new technologies, new and shifting buyer needs, the emergence of new industry segments, shifting input costs and availability and changes in government regulations.

Four broad attributes of a nation’s environment in which local firms competed in the creation of competitive advantage were identified by Porter (1998) to explain the success of a particular industry to compete internationally.

Figure 3.6: Porter’s diamond model (Porter, 1998, p.71)

Factor conditions corresponded to the nation’s potential in areas such as skilled labour, natural resources, physical/administrative/information infrastructure, that were necessary to compete in a given industry. Quantity and cost, quality, and

specialization were three main elements under factor conditions. Demand conditions

were explained by the nature of home demand for the industry’s products and services. Home demand conditions could be changed according to the segment structure of nature, sophisticated and demanding buyers and anticipatory buyer needs. Related and supporting industries were explained by the presence or absence in the

nation of supplier industries and related industries that were internationally competitive. Finally, firm strategy, structure and rivalry corresponded to the context in which firms were created, organised and managed as well as the nature of domestic rivalry. These four attributes of the local environment play a major part in enabling domestic firms to gain and sustain competitive advantage. These factors interact with each other to form a mutually reinforcing system.

Porter’s recent contributions revolve around the demand side his model (Porter, 2000). He focused on clusters “…clusters are geographic concentrations of

interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, and associated institutions in a particular field that are present in a nation or region (Porter, 2000, p.15)”. According to him, clusters affected competition and his diamond model by;

increasing the current (static) productivity of constituent firms or industries;

increasing the capacity of cluster participants for innovation and productivity growth; and

stimulating new business formation that supports innovation and expands the activities located in a cluster.

The cluster approach has implications both for economic development and companies. Porter (2000) argues that in the early stages, the government should focus on improving the local infrastructure and eliminating disadvantages. Then, the

government should concentrate on removing obstacles to innovation. Porter (1998) argues that promoting clusters in developing countries should start with the basics such as improving market capitals, institutions, education and skill levels and technological capacity.

In Turkey, the ‘cluster’ concept emerged in ‘SME Strategy and Action Plan68’ for the first time in a policy document. However, although the aim of promoting clusters was to support the establishment of business clusters and increase the capacity of cooperation, there was no evidence of what the Turkish definition of clusters was. It was stated that those clusters were to be formed in Organized Industrial Zones (OIZs), Industrial Zones and Industrial Estates (SME, 2004, p. 73). In the final 9th FYDP (2007-2013), rather than increasing the competitiveness of less developed regions as in the previous Plans, it is aimed at both increasing the competitiveness of all the regions and decreasing the regional inequalities amongst the regions. To this end, the regional and spatial development framework is proposed to be developed at the national level and regional development strategies and plans are anticipated to be prepared in cooperation with the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). Physical infrastructure requirements of enterprises as well as network creation and clustering initiatives are supported. As well as stated in the 2007-2009 SME Strategy and Action Plan, the policy idea of supporting clusters is highly encouraged in the 9th FYDP. Organized Industrial Zones (OIZs) are considered as the places where an environment for clustering is created. More than single industries, it is believed that clusters encompass an array of linked industries and other entities important to competition.

68

They include, for example, suppliers of specialized inputs such as components, machinery, and services as well as providers of specialized infrastructure. Therefore, support for clustering under the leadership of driving sectors is ensured within a strengthened social network. In this framework, creation of mechanisms, which supports local clusters, increases collaboration among the agents included in these clusters and ensures their integration with global markets, is encouraged.