Competitive Productivity (CP) at macro–meso–micro levels

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to advance our understanding of competitiveness. The authors introduce the concept of Competitive Productivity (CP), supplementing shortcomings of traditional understandings of national, organisational and individual productivity which overlook the nature of competitiveness, i.e. outperforming the competition, or at least bettering one’s own performance. The authors offer definitions, components and construct measurements of CP at three levels: macro, meso and micro. Design/methodology/approach A review of the literature was conducted to evaluate the need for combining productivity and competitiveness into one new construct. There are theories that combine these ideas – e.g., the resource-based theory of the firm – but the authors are presenting these concepts differently, or in a novel way. The authors’ focus on CP makes necessary a new group of construct measures which are different from that of the strategy literature: the authors measure an agent’s tendency “to be better than the competition” along multiple dimensions. Based on the CP construct, the authors present three testable models to uncover determinants of CP at three levels (macro, meso and micro). Finally, the work around “emergent property” can be applied to examine CP itself as being a determinant for other higher-order outcomes such as welfare, profits and life satisfaction. CP forms a platform to explore likely interplay (bottom-up and/or top-down mechanisms) within the micro–meso–macro architecture. Findings Three CP models were developed and are briefly discussed in this paper: first, a National Competitive Productivity (NCP) model to capture the components/drivers of national CP (macro level). Second, a Firm Competitive Productivity (FCP) model to capture the components/drivers of firm CP within an industry context (meso). And finally, an Individual Competitive Productivity (ICP) model capturing the components/drivers of CP at the individual (micro) level. Originality/value The study provides a combined approach to capture productivity and competitiveness within one innovative concept: CP. It can be used by government and policy makers (NCP model), managers and organisations (FCP model), and individuals such as workers and students (ICP model) to evaluate and enhance their performance. A better understanding of the components/drivers of CP at the three levels and the suggested measurement of CP should provide a stronger theory of competitiveness of nations, firms and individuals. Not least should a focus on the three levels (macro, meso and micro) better prepare citizens, firms, workers and students to effectively function and work in the marketplace and in society. The authors’ work should eventually contribute to more effective benchmarking and continuous improvement in the competitiveness domain. Crucially, this conceptual paper forms the foundation for future empirical testing of CP components in the context of the relative values and moderated behaviour as captured by the ReVaMB model.

Risk-induced competitive productivity in times of recession: a chaordic tourism decision-making perspective

“…The concept of Competitive Productivity (CP) has been first introduced by Baumann and Pintado (2013, p.10) to capture "an attitude and behaviour [paradigm shift] directed at beating the competition". Competitive Productivity (CP) is conceptualised at: macro (nation), meso (industry context) and micro (individual) through a number of drivers and measurement constructs developed to operationalise "outperformance" amongst both competition (external) but also past performances (internal) through pragmatism (Baumann et al, 2019). Each of the three levels accounts for a number of externally and internally moderating effects, formalised through relative values and moderated behaviours (Baumann et al, 2018), along the six components of Competitive Productivity (CP): Benchmarking; Culture; Education/Development; Environment/Infrastructure; Performance (outcomes); and Values (Baumann et al, 2017).…”

“…On the other micro end of customer/tourist level, Individual Competitive Productivity (ICP) builds on the psychographic, cultural, educational and behavioural profile of customers to identify learning styles, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation patterns and personality traits that drive their individual performance and engagement with targets (Baumann et al, 2019). The process of decision-making as well as the interpretation and development the argumentation narrative around it is bound to elements like lifeexperience, education, personality, family nurture and even language that co-define Individual Competitive Productivity (ICP) (Hoadley, 2020;Holland et al, 1980;Larson et al, 2002).…”

“…According to Baumann et al (2017), Competitive Productivity (CP) at meso level builds, on one hand, on the customers' appreciation of firm's performance along its key identified competitive attributes, while on the other, on the price competitiveness of products offered by direct competitors. The key identified attributes conceptualising Firm Competitive Productivity (FCP) at this level are: Talent Management, Resource Management, Corporate Culture, and Brand Management (Baumann et al, 2019).…”

“…The concept of Competitive Productivity (CP) introduced by Baumann and Pintado (2013) offers an operational interface for the integration of the two key concepts under the realm of the need for a behavioral and attitudinal paradigm change. The proposed direction aims to improve productivity at macro, meso or micro level both against the benchmarked competitors but also against previous performance, hence nurturing the way for increased brand value and competition through the continuous improvement of productivity performances (Baumann et al, 2019). In an era where tourism and hospitality industry are challenged for further adaptation and innovation of their offered products and services (OECD, 2020), Competitive Productivity (CP) offers the possibility to simultaneously consider external and internal growth drivers in order to maintain customer loyalty satisfaction and outperform competition based on merit and ethos even in times of societal turbulence (Baumann et al, 2017;Redding, 2020).…”

“…Yet, research is often fragmented to specific levels and oversees the running patterns and chain cause-effects (Tung & Stahl, 2018). In advancing further the application of the Competitive Productivity (CP) concept in the tourism and hospitality industry, Baumann et al (2019) suggest the need for a further exploration and empirical establishment of the Competitive Productivity (CP) interplay among the different levels of analysis: macro, meso, and individual (micro). This exploration is bound to a series of linear and non-linear attribute relationships that dictate the nature and mechanisms of Competitive Productivity (CP) manifestation, which is often triggered by the decision-making process of the single individual tourist (Baumann & Harvey, 2018).…”