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.

Citation

Lafuente, E. and Vaillant, Y. (2021), "Pulling from the front or pushing from behind: how competency prioritisation should differ to optimise firm competitiveness", European Business Review, Vol. 33 No. 6, pp. 849-868. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2020-0288