Competitiveness in the Real Economy: Value Aggregation, Economics and Management in the Provision of Goods and Services

Value aggregation to goods and services is unbelievably important to the balance of trade of modern nations, yet it receives minute attention by economists and policy-makers alike. In Competitiveness in the Real Economy, Rui Vinhas da Silva shows that the nature and dynamics of contemporary global competition requires a sharper focus on value aggregation. He provides a rounded, integrative and multi-disciplinary perspective linking national competitiveness, economics and management. The emphasis is on a transversal philosophy of value aggregation as a key driver of national competitiveness across sectors in the real economy and from production to the consumption of goods and services. The links between exports, inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) and country competitiveness are examined along with the role of exports and the attraction of FDI inflows in building national GDP. The author emphasises that culture, the notion of being cosmopolitan and understanding aspirational and discriminatory consumers with high disposable income are key drivers of success in the global economy. Acknowledging that the complexity of problems comes from diversity of global actors, the author highlights the limitations of current economics in responding to contemporary challenges. His concern about the management sciences and management learning is that solutions do not lie in the formulation and prescription of universal laws, but are contextually-laden and derive from an informed intuition that is partly taught and partly experiential. The book addresses the implications of all this for how the management skills needed for competitive advantage might best be developed.

Rui Vinhas da Silva has degrees in Business Management and Economics from York University in Toronto, Canada, an MBA from Aston Business School and a PhD and Post-Doctorate from Manchester Business School. Before joining ISCTE as an Associate Professor he was a Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor at Manchester Business School where he remained for 17 years.Throughout this period he regularly taught in every MBA and Doctoral programme at MBS. Over the years he also held several visiting positions, most notably at the University of São Paulo. Vinhas da Silva has been actively involved in senior executive training programmes and corporate consultancy, with regular appointments in blue chip companies, including PWC in the USA, senior British military personnel, senior executives from countries of the former Soviet Union and government officials in Malaysia among others. Vinhas da Silva has research interests in the areas of national competitiveness and economics, marketing, country branding, corporate reputation and country of origin effects, having published books and journal articles on these topics.