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2. Does Porter Fail to Explain How the Factor and Demand Conditions That Mould a Nation’s Corporate Strategies, Business Structures, and Industrial Clusters Are Established? What Other Theories and Evidence Might Assist Such an Explanation?

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2. Does Porter fail to explain how the factor and demand conditions that mould a nation’s corporate strategies, business structures, and industrial clusters are established? What other theories and evidence might assist such an explanation?

Porter explains what factor and demand conditions are, but he fails to explain how they are established. He defines then, and explains them in detail, but lack the most important aspect, which is how they are established. A theory like this is not of much use without the information about the way one can gain these advantages. Porter is always greatly praised for his great work in the management field and he does deserve some of this praise, but if he doesn’t manage to explain himself fully …show more content…

Porter does mention that a nation with only 2 of the determinants, if in a natural resource or low sophisticated technology or skills industry, will still have an advantage, but will not be able to sustain it. These aspect are all key, but probably the most vital two are rivalry and cooperation within the nation. These tie in with Porter’s theory of industry clusters. The idea behind of rivalry and cooperation within a nation is that the rivalry will help drive the firms forward and the cooperation will also help each firm be more competitive in the global market. The firm may share ideas of production or new technological revolutions. This information would be shared within an industry cluster. “..the fundamental source of the domestic industry’s global competitive advantage may well be domestic cooperation that ensures the collectivization of knowledge-a process that gives those individual enterprises within the domestic industry that share knowledge and ability to engage in continuous innovation.” (Lazonick, 1991) Industry clusters are “geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers, firms in related industries, and associated institutions (for example, universities, standards agencies, and trade associations) in particular fields that compete but also cooperate.” (Porter, 1979) The importance and role of clusters, from Porter’s

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