The Competitive Advantage of Nations: The Case of Turkey

First published in 1999, this volume applies Professor Michael Porter’s diamond framework (1990) to the Turkish glass, construction, leather clothes, automobile and flat steel industries. Özlam Öz aims primarily to contribute towards an improvement of this framework, and thus towards a better understanding of the sources of competitive advantage. Her research presents a new approach to evaluate the competitiveness of the Turkish economy, given that alternative studies usually focus on factors like exchange rates and the cost of labour and raw materials as the determinants of competitive advantage.

The author begins her book by providing an evaluation of the diamond framework linked to the debate created by the publication of The Competitive Advantage of Nations. She then identifies the pattern of advantage in Turkey by specifying the internationally competitive industries and clusters. This is followed by a detailed examination of the five Turkish industry case studies - glass, construction, leather clothes, automobile and flat steel industries. The findings are generally supportive of Porter. The results suggest, however, several major areas in the framework - especially domestic rivalry and the role of government - where one or more of the Turkish cases question Porter''s hypothesises. The book ends with the implications of the study for the sources of competitive advantage in general and for the Turkish economy in particular.

Porter and his diamond framework are both unquestionably influential. Improvements upon it forwarded in this book will be of use to academic readers as well as strategic planners and policy makers.