Pulling from the front or pushing from behind: how competency prioritisation should differ to optimise firm competitiveness

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to contrast the disparities in optimal competitiveness configurations across international economies. Additionally, we analyse the competitive efficiency across firms of different performance endowments to identify distinctions and determine whether standardised or customised competitiveness configurations are optimal. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a multilevel regression model to confirm country-specific effects followed by a non-parametric “Benefit-of-the-Doubt” (BoD) method to conduct an international comparison of the competitive efficiency of top- and poor-performing firms across eight European and Latin American economies. Findings Not only are national ecosystems significant differentiators of competitive efficiency, but contras firm-level characteristics also explain these differences. It is found that more recent start-ups tend to experience significantly greater competitive efficiency. However, by separating the top-performing firms from the poor performers in each economy, it is found that the configurational outputs that potentially contribute most to competitive efficiency are not necessarily the same; while “technology” is a key factor for driving the competitive efficiency of top-performing firms, “market” drivers are most essential for improving the competitive potential of poor performers. Originality/value The configurational outputs that potentially contribute most to competitive efficiency are not necessarily universal.

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“…Lafuente and Vaillant (2021) found that more recent start-ups tend to experience significantly greater competitive efficiency. Also, other trends were found when separating the top-performing firms from the poor performers in each economy.…”

“…Lafuente and Vaillant (2021) in their paper “Pulling from the front or pushing from behind: how competency prioritisation should differ to optimise firm competitiveness”, recognize that competitiveness is a crucial output of an economy’s entrepreneurial and business activity. Specific competencies, such as innovativeness and technological capabilities, have become requisites for competing in a “Smart” economy.…”

“…Given the distinct resource limitations and contrasting capability frontiers, the driver that should optimally be focalized is likely to differ from firm to firm (Lafuente et al , 2021). Benchmarking the best performers to encourage similar capability-building across different institutionally bonded international economies or uniformly among firms that are part of the same economy may be inadequate for the optimal competency configuration of less endowed and potentially poorer performers (Lafuente and Vaillant, 2021).…”

“…For these reasons, Lafuente and Vaillant (2021) contrasted the disparities in optimal competency configurations across eight European and Latin American economies. Their model analysed the competitive efficiency across firms of different performance endowments to identify distinctions and determine whether standardized or customized competitiveness configurations were optimal.…”

“…The results of the multilevel model point to important national- and firm-level distinctions across the optimal competitiveness configurations. The role of the configuration of drivers of competitiveness in the efficiency thereof provides an opportunity to assess how different competencies contribute to competitiveness in contexts where the interactions between resources and capabilities are complex and heterogeneous (Lafuente and Vaillant, 2021). Also, this study indicates that there are essential differences in attainable capability frontiers between firms from the same country, leading to distinct optimal competency configurations.…”