This book, written in four parts, examines key factors affecting the international competitiveness of countries and corporations including not only the saving rates, capital, skilled labor resources, technological innovation, productivity levels, and labor-management relations but also transformation and development of socio-economic systems, macroeconomics policies, and especially corporate strategies. The four parts of the book are :
- Part I. Overview of International Competition, introduces the theoretical and basic foundation of strategies for international competition.
- Part II. Methods and Techniques to Evaluate Corporate Competitiveness and Your Ability to Succeed Internationally, describes several useful analytical methods for diagnosing a firm’s ability to compete.
- Part III. Strategies for International Competitiveness, focuses on competitive weapons and abilities in actual rivalries between international competitors
- Part IV. Successful Strategies in the International Marketplace, concludes by the author’s analytical approach by explaining the strength of Japanese and U.S. firms in the international marketplace.
The author stress not only the role of easily measurable hard facts underlying the competitive performance of a country, such as growth, inflation, investments, and productivity, but also the functioning and development of market mechanisms and social institutions, policies, and softer facts such as management know-how, education, attitudes towards risk taking, and value.