Business Competitiveness and Sustainability

Marco Arraya is an Assistant Professor at Universidade Europeia (Lisboa), Portugal. He holds a PhD in Strategic Management from Universidade Aberta, Portugal. Marco has co-edited several books and published in international journals, and his research interests include competitiveness, dynamic capabilities, strategic management, and organizational change. He has much experience in competitive industries as CEO.João J. Ferreira is a Full Professor of Management at the University of Beira Interior (UBI), Portugal, and an affiliated member of the UBI Research Unit in Business Sciences (NECE). He has edited and co-edited several books on strategy and entrepreneurship and published over 200 papers in premier international journals. His main research interests include strategy, competitiveness, and entrepreneurship.

"Business Competitiveness and Sustainability: Theory, Practice, and Future Challenges" brilliantly navigates the complexities of organizational success in a dynamic environment. Through contemporary research and illustrative case studies, this insightful book by Marco Arraya and João Ferreira offers invaluable tools for scholars, students, and practitioners to analyze and enhance organizational performance. A must-read for those seeking to master strategic management and innovation in today’s VUCA world.”Hussain Rammal, The University of Adelaide, Australia“The authors outline a multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder set of perspectives on the key determinants and drivers of competitiveness and sustainability. In so doing, they aim to unlock the “black box” of sustainable competitive advantage and highlight the key enablers of it – their figure on organization competitiveness dimensions show-cases and amplifies those. To the extent that this rubric of organizational and managerial excellence is reflected in the routines and practices of a for-profit or a not-for-profit organization, it can serve as a valid predictor of success in building and maintaining sustainable competitive advantage. This work should be of interest to academics, policy makers and practitioners alike.”Elias G. Carayannis, PhD, MBA, MScEE, CPMMA | Professor of Science, Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship | Director, European Union Research Center | School of Business, George Washington University: Washington, DC, USA“Business Competitiveness and Sustainability: Theory, Practice, and Future Challenges is a great example of the power of interdisciplinary collaboration and intellectual curiosity. The two editors have assembled an excellent group of scholars who bring diverse expertise and perspectives to understand the complex and multifaceted topic of organizational competitiveness as well as sustainability. This volume is a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, and students seeking a deeper understanding of this critical subject.”Wendy D. Chen, Ph.D., Senior Associate Editor, Management Decision and Assistant Professor of Texas Tech University, USA“Focusing on seven critical dimension, including leadership, people and infrastructure, this book presents state of the art research on business competitiveness and sustainability. Forfeiting easy answers, the chapters in this book address the complexity of business and business environment. It pairs academic rigour with highly insightful practical expertise. Logically structured and concisely written, this book is indispensable for anyone interested in what makes business competitive and sustainable in the challenging times that we live in.”Role Rutten, Associate Professor in the department of Organization Studies, Tilburg University, Netherlands"One of the standout features of this book is its focus on seven internal dimensions that directly impact an organization’s global competitiveness: purpose, leadership, passion, people-centeredness, customer-centricity, infrastructure, and viability. The editors have successfully articulated how these dimensions can be individually studied and collectively leveraged to create a coherent and competitive organization.Each chapter delves deeply into these dimensions, providing a strategic framework that not only highlights their importance but also demonstrates how they interconnect to form a robust system for sustaining competitive advantage. The book also introduces an innovative instrument for measuring an organization's competitiveness, making it a valuable resource for both scholars and practitioners."René Pellissier, CHEC Higher Education Leadership Academy (HELA), South Africa

• Table of ContentsMore about the EditorsMore about the ContributorsIntroductionMarco Arraya and João J. Ferreira1. Productivity and competitiveness in the digital era: more inseparable and interdependentCarlos A. P. F. Silva and Tawfiq Rkibi2. Competitive Advantage: Why and how to evaluate. Its importance in competitivenessHelen E. Salavou3. Organizational Purpose. Its importance in competitiveness.José António Porfírio, Carlos Rey Peña and Ricardo Rodrigues4. Is Inclusive leadership a renewed hope for the building of people-centric organizations?Daniel Roque Gomes and Neuza Ribeiro5. Work passion and innovative behaviours: the anchor for successClara Margaça, Elisabeth Figueiredo and José Carlos Sánchez García6. Customer-centric organization: Creating customer value for competitive advantageMika Yrjölä and Harri Hokkanen7. Core Infrastructure: The company’s backbone and its importance in business competitivenessMarco Arraya8. Supporting business viability and competitiveness through sustainability-based adaptationRodolfo Damiano, Marcantonio Ruisi and Federico Cosenz9. Internationalization and Digitalization Competitive Strategies in high-Technology companies: Multiple Case StudiesMarco Figueiredo and João J. Ferreira10. Firm competitiveness fit stress-testMarco Arraya and João J. Ferreira11. Current and future challenges for organizations: forewarned is forearmed!André de Waal and Julie Linthorst