Innovative educators have an opportunity to blend face-to-face and digital learning models to advance an engaged, effective, efficient and affordable model of learning in the 21st century.
including the direction of communication, the level of interactivity, the media of communication, the constraints on the educational process,
In the mid-1980s the educational pioneers such as Wayne Danielson of the University of Texas wrote software for journalism and communication education.
It is a model of learning based on one-to-many communication. Put in its simplest terms,
and teachers and features many-to-many communication and multidirectional mentorship (see Figure 1). The professor is no longer in the role of the grand master of knowledge.
Interactive, on-demand multimedia resources such as the Khan academy enable students to learn the basics of any discipline asynchronously (Khan academy, 2013.
Long argues that the end of these constraints creates an environment for learning unleashed. It is an educational environment that puts increasing control in the hands of the learner.
Augmented reality (AR) is a new medium of communication (Craig, 2013. It has been in development for at least two decades,
Students of paleontology could use AR to study collaboratively dinosaurs in a real-world environment enhanced by 3d virtual dinosaurs that once roamed that space.
Students in 21st century Canada might gain a new understanding of their environment's ancient past by encountering 3d animated versions of the true-life giant camels that once roamed that country (Austen, 2013.
Innovative educators can use this technology to help meet learning objectives in a mobile environment.
Moreover, learning analytics based on such data are increasingly being incorporated across digital learning environments. Mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets can be used easily as well as clicker apps
either or hard to replace in an online learning environment (Hayes, 2011). ) These nonverbal cues are sometimes critical to comprehension
(although there are techniques to introduce nonverbal communication in an online learning environment). In the years ahead, educators can optimize their instruction with a wide spectrum of digital tools.
Consider the case of Narrative Science (Northwestern university Innovation and New Ventors Office, 2014. Narrative Science is a commercial venture that grew out of the collaboration of two Northwestern university professors, Kristian Hammond and Larry Birnbaum,
and a technology executive, Stuart Frankel. Narrative science transforms data into stories and insights through its proprietary artificial intelligence authoring system.
including media enterprises, willing to pay to use the system to write stories. The company's ambition is for the algorithm to write every story for an audience of 121 one.
what is the role for human teachers in such an AI-driven environment? A parallel case is
Reporters need to focus more on rigorous, enterprise and investigative reporting. As journalism scholar Peter Laufer (2013) notes, journalists should slow down.
Innovative educators have an opportunity to blend face-to-face and digital learning models to advance an engaged, effective, efficient and affordable model of learning in the 21st century.
including the direction of communication, the level of interactivity, the media of communication, the constraints on the educational process,
The value of learning analytics to networked learning on a personal learning environment. Retrieved on 9 june 2013 from file://C:/Users/User/Downloads/18150452. pdf Geocaching.
) Nonverbal communication and computer mediated communication to enhance online learning. Retrieved on 9 june 2013 from http://sloanconsortium. org/conferences/2011/aln/nonverbal-communication
-and-computer-mediated-communication-enhance-online-lear Helfand, D. J. 2013). The social conquest of general education.
Journal of General education, 62 (1), 43. Hollerer, T.,Feiner, S, . & Pavlik, J. 1999, October).
The Research Division of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota.
University of chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-45808-3 Laufer, P. 2013. Peter Laufer calls for slow news revolution.
Retrieved on 9 june 2013 from http://tropicaline. files. wordpress. com/2011/04/netdelusion. pdf Northwestern university Innovation and New Ventors Office.
John V. Pavlik, Professor, Department of Journalism and Media Studies, School of Communication and Information, Rutgers University, New brunswick, New jersey, United states
Using structural equation modeling on a sample of 397 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES),
A commitment to innovation has long been considered to be important to the success of entrepreneurial ventures and small firms (Fiol 1996.
Research has shown that innovation stimulates ventures'growth (e g.,, Wolff and Pett 2006; Motwani et al. 1999;
Hax and Majluf 1991) and also provides a key source of competitive advantage in the absence of scale economies (Lewis et al. 2002.
Justin Craig is associate professor of family business and entrepreneurship at Bond University. Address correspondence to: Clay Dibrell, 200 Bexell Hall, College of Business, Oregon State university, Corvallis, OR 97331.
It is acknowledged generally that the effective application of IT should enable firms to respond more appropriately to their environment (Das, Zahra,
here presented as investments by the firm in both tangible and intangible assets, for innovation pursuant to enhanced firm performance.
and productivity impacts of IT investments (see, e g.,, Huang and Liu 2005; Bharadwaj, Bharadwaj, and Konsynski 1999;
IT investments do not meet performance objectives (e g.,, Clegg et al. 1997), or that there is little or no relationship between IT investment and firm performance (e g.,
, Powell and Dent-Micallef 1997. Various arguments have been put forward as to why there is a lack of consensus in the value of IT investment.
For example, Powell and Dent-Micallef (1997) suggest that IT is now so readily available and,
and the role of time lag effects between investment in technology and its payoff (Sangho and Kim 2006).
and Olsen 1999), further and ongoing investigation of these relationships in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES) is warranted given the dramatic 204 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT advancement of IT that has shifted SMES
which results in opportunities for innovation in the small firm. Further support for our examination of IT
or services to breakthrough products, and processes or services that introduce first time features or exceptional performance.
Process definition of innovation proponents concern themselves mainly with how the interplay between events and people at each stage of the process influences events in subsequent stages,
Issues of interest for these scholars include the role of communication in facilitating successful innovation,
Innovation has further been defined as the willingness to place strong emphasis on research and development, new products, new services, improved product lines,
Even then, only 4 percent of all new product innovations beat the expected return on investment (Nussbaum, Berner, and Brady 2005.
whereas process innovation represents changes in the way firms produce end products or services (Camison-Zomoza, Lapiedra-Alcamí,
or technologies used by the organization to deliver products or services, while product innovations are defined in this research as new products
or services introduced to meet an external user or market need (Walker 2005). IT Investment With IT's increasing sophistication and usage,
managers now consider the use of IT as a competitive tool used for the implementation of strategic plans and the support of firm core competencies (e g.,
As a consequence, investment in IT by firms has escalated dramatically in recent times (Devaraj and Kohli 2003.
Ravichandran and Lertwongsatien (2005) also found a direct relationship between investments in IT capabilities and firm financial performance.
IT Investment, Innovation, and Firm Performance Firm performance is enhanced when there are synergies among the elements of a system.
As such, investment in IT does not stimulate productivity and growth (i e.,, firm performance) without a number of complementary developments,
Open channels of communication, decentralization and informal decision-making, loosely coupled decision linkages and loosely identified job descriptions,
and stimulating demand for other products (Frishammar and Hörte 2005). Hypotheses SMES that can demonstrate timely responsiveness and rapid and flexible product innovation,
Further, due to their close relationships to customers, small firms can detect market niches more efficiently and effectively than larger firms.
of being for-profit SMES (6 499 employees) with the key respondent (owner chief executive officer CEO, director) in a knowledgeable management position (Floyd and Wooldridge 1994.
Transportation, Communication, Utilities (n=26; Retail, Hotel, Restaurant (n=45; Business Services (n=58; and Consumer Services (n=17.
The age of the firms ranged from 1 to greater than 40 years with the median range of the sampled firms from 20 to 29 years.
The median size of the firms was in the 20 49 employee category with a small minority of firms larger than 100 employees (n=18.
and IT investment) regressed on the dependent variable of Figure 1 Conceptual Model H3(+)IT Investment Innovation (Product/Process) Firm Performance (Return on Assets/Return on Sales/Sales Growth/Market
The variance inflation factor (VIF) scores for the three measures were below 1. 5, which is much lower than the VIF cutoff of 10 (Chatterjee and Price 1991).
The items were (1) there exists a very strong emphasis on marketing of tried and true product/services compared to there exists a very strong emphasis on R&d
2) no new lines of products, services, or programs were introduced during the past three years versus more than half of our product lines or services were introduced during the past three years;
and (3) changes in product lines have been minor over the last three years opposed to changes in product lines have been major over the last three years.
IT Asset Investment. Management information systems scholars (e g.,, Sakaguchi and Dibrell 1998; Mahmood and Mann 1993) suggest that an appropriate way to gauge a firm's emphasis ON IT is to look at their investments in IT assets (e g.,
, hardware, software, and personnel) relative to other competitors within the same industry. Drawing upon a scale developed
2) total IT investment;(3) number of IT employees; and (4) number of personal computers and terminals per employee.
the coefficient alphas ranged from a low of 0. 69 for a process innovation strategy to a high of 0. 88 for IT asset investment and firm financial performance.
p<.05) had positive associations with IT asset investment, resulting in H1 being supported. The squared multiple correlation (comparable to R2 in regression analysis) for this equation was 0. 11,
2. Process Innovation 2. 70 0. 89 0. 69 0. 31**3. IT Investment 2. 85 1. 04 0. 88 0
In order to optimize investment in innovation activities IT initiatives should be aligned with innovation. Second, SMES that compete with larger firms are able to level the competitive playing field by utilizing IT.
The extant literature on innovation reveals that through investment in product and process innovations, firms Table 2 Structural Model Parameter Estimates and Goodness-of-fit Statistics for Hypothesized Model (n=311) a Estimates
Growth 0. 15*2. 53 Value of IT Assets Total IT Investment 0. 15*3. 59 Producing Specialty Products Invest in R&d 0. 17*3. 11
if customers'expectations fail to materialize or should shift suddenly (Amram and Kulatilaka 1999; Bowman and Hurry 1993.
and thus less able to respond to changing technological and competitive market expectations and opportunities.
An SME that fails to continually invest in innovation places itself at greater risk of having products and services marginalized by technologically superior competitors.
either a product or a process-oriented innovation strategy with investments in IT enhance their firms'relative performance along two essential dimensions:
Perhaps, a lack of investment in IT over time may render the firm incapable of meeting customer requirements.
associated with our study are limitations that offer opportunities for future research. With only one key respondent per firm, respondents could have skewed a perspective of the different model components,
Research Issues Relating to Structure, Competition, and Performance of Small Technology-Based Firms, Small Business Economics 16 (1), 37 51.
Barney, J. 1991. Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage, Journal of Management 17,99 120. Bentler, P m. 1990.
Small and Medium-Size Food Enterprises in a Concentrated Industry Environment, Journal of Small Business Management 44 (1), 64 80.
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Aligning Manufacturing Strategy and Business-Level Competitive Strategy in New Competitive Environments: The 214 JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Case for Strategic Resonance, Journal of Management Studies 42,793 815.
A Ten-Year Investigation of Strategy, Systems and Environment upon Innovation in Family Firms, Family business Review 19 (1), 1 10.
The Natural Environment, Innovation, and Firm Performance: A Comparative Study, Family business Review 19 (4), 275 288.
Comparing Large and Small Multinationals as Technology Producers, Small Business Economics 9 (1), 53 66.
Culture and Ownership Structure do Matter, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship 8 (1), 1 17. Hambrick, D c.,M. A. Gelekanycz,
University of chicago Press. Hax, A, . and N. Majluf (1991). The Strategy Concept and Process. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
and Performance, Journal of Intellectual Capital 6 (2), 237 252. Izushi, H. 2003. Impacts of the Length of Relationships upon the Use of Research Institutes by SMES, Research Policy 32 (3), 771 788.
An Empirical Comparison between Objective and Subjective Measures of the Product Innovation Domain of Corporate Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice l5, 53 66.
The Contingency Theory of‘Fit'and IT Implementation in Small and Medium Enterprises, Journal of Computer Information systems 45 (3), 88 95.
A Dynamic Model of Enterprise System Innovation, International Journal of Information management 26,59 69. Kohli, R,
An Examination of the Effect of IT Investments on Firm Value: The Case of Y2k-Compliance Costs, Journal of Information systems 14,95 108.
Measuring the Organizational Impact of Information technology Investment: An Exploratory Study, Journal of Management Information systems 10,97 122.
Managing Innovation in French Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Journal of Small Business Management 37 (2), 106 114.
A Lag Effect of IT Investment on Firm Performance, Information Resources Management Journal 19,43 69.
The Small Business Economy: A Report to the President on Small Firms Prepared By the U s. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy.
Sources of Small and Medium Enterprises Excellent Business Performance in a Service Orientated Economy, Journal of Services Research 5 (1), 5 20.
Associations with Industry and Strategy Variables, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 18 (2), 47 69. Zahra, S. A d. O. Neubaum,
as well as for a number of selected economies in each of the five following regions: Europe and North america, Asia and the Pacific, Latin america and the Caribbean, the Middle east and North africa, and Sub-saharan africa.
and the United kingdom confirming their place among the most competitive economies. Along with the United states, three Asian economies also figure in top 10,
with Singapore remaining the second-most competitive economy in the world, and Hong kong SAR and Japan placing 9th and 10th.
Switzerland retains its 1st place position again this year as a result of its continuing strong performance across the board.
Productivity is enhanced further by a business sector that offers excellent on-the-job-training opportunities both citizens and private companies that are proactive at adapting the latest technologies,
Finally, Switzerland's macroeconomic environment is among the most stable in the world (8th) at a time
when many neighboring economies continue to struggle in this area. While Switzerland demonstrates many competitive strengths,
see The Global Competitiveness Report 2012 2013 with detailed profiles of all 144 economies as well as an interactive data platform are available at www. weforum. org/gcr.
thus providing individuals with the skills needed for a rapidly changing global economy. Finland moves up one place since last year to reach 3rd position on the back of small improvements in a number of areas.
This has provided the workforce with the skills needed to adapt rapidly to a changing environment
Improving the country's capacity to adopt the latest technologies (ranked 25th) could lead to important synergies that in turn could corroborate the country's position as one of the world's most innovative economies.
Finland's macroeconomic environment weakens slightly on the back of rising inflation (above 3 percent),
but fares comparatively well when contrasted with other euro-area economies. Sweden, overtaken by Finland, falls one place to 4th position.
Last but not least, the country boasts a stable macroeconomic environment (13th), with a balanced budget and manageable public debt levels.
These characteristics come together to make Sweden one of the most productive and competitive economies in the world.
its macroeconomic environment is more stable than that of a number of other advanced economies.
by intense local competition (8th) and low market dominance by large companies (2nd). Germany's business sector is sophisticated very,
Although many structural features continue to make its economy extremely productive a number of escalating and unaddressed weaknesses have lowered the US ranking in recent years.
and the scale opportunities afforded by the sheer size of its domestic economy the largest in the world by far these qualities continue to make the United states very competitive.
On the other hand, the country's macroeconomic environment (110th, down from 85th last year) represents the greatest drag on its competitiveness,
As the second-placed Asian economy behind Singapore (2nd), Hong kong SAR rises to 9th position
Moreover, the economy's financial markets are second to none, revealing high efficiency and trustworthiness and stability of the banking sector.
The dynamism and efficiency of Hong kong's goods market (2nd) and labor market (3rd) further contribute to the economy's very good overall positioning.
participation remains below levels found in other advanced economies (53rd). Improving educational outcomes will also help boost Hong kong's innovative capacity,
producing high-value-added goods and services. The country's overall competitive performance, however, continues to be dragged down by severe macroeconomic weaknesses (124th), with the second-highest budget deficit in this year's sample (143th).
Country Profile Highlights 3 2012 World Economic Forum Europe and North Americaeuropean economies have faced a number of challenges in the past few years.
Although they had been recovering from the significant difficulties brought about by the global economic crisis, rising concerns about the sustainability of sovereign debt in Greece and a number of other European countries continue to raise questions about the viability of the euro.
Most recently this has led to a double-dip recession in several countries in the region, rising inflation,
several European countries continue to feature prominently among the most competitive economies in the world. As described above, six of them are among the top 10.
As in previous years, the two countries from North america feature among the most competitive economies worldwide, with the United states occupying the 7th position and Canada the 14th.
which has provided the Danish workforce with the skills needed to adapt rapidly to a changing environment
although Canada has been successful in nurturing its human resources compared with other advanced economies (it is ranked 7th for health and primary education and 15th for higher education and training),
Moreover, Norway's macroeconomic environment is ranked an impressive 3rd out of all countries (up from 4th last year),
On the other hand, Norway's competitiveness would be enhanced further by continuing to upgrade its infrastructure (27th), fostering greater goods market efficiency and competition (28th
and further improving its environment for research and development. Austria is ranked 16th this year, up three places since last year, with small improvements across a number of areas.
Belgium also boasts an exceptional higher education and training system (4th), with excellent math and science education, topnotch management schools,
Its goods market is characterized by high levels of competition and an environment that facilitates new business creation.
Business operations are distinguished also by high levels of sophistication and professional management. On the other hand, there are some concerns about government inefficiency (55th) and its highly distortionary tax system (140th),
and its macroeconomic environment is burdened by persistent deficit spending and high public debt. France is ranked 21st, down three places from last year on the back of falling confidence in public and private institutions (down four places) and the financial sector (down 13 places in trustworthiness.
On a positive note, the country's infrastructure is among the best in the world (4th), with outstanding transport links, energy infrastructure, and communications.
Yet the country's macroeconomic environment continues to raise significant concern (131st), although matters seem to be moving in the right direction following the government's massive bailout of the banking sector.
On the other hand, a weakened macroeconomic environment (123rd) and financial markets (97th) remain areas of concern. Despite its very delicate macroeconomic situation and the well-known difficulties of its banking system that restricts the access to financing for local firms, Spain remains stable at 36th place.
which provides a large pool of skilled labor force that, if properly mobilized, could help the country's much-needed economic transition toward higher-value-added activities.
The bond spread against stronger economies has continued relentlessly to grow hindering the capacity of the country, its banking system,
Stronger R&d orientation of companies, easier access to venture capital, and intensified collaboration between universities and the private sector would help the country to move toward a more future-oriented development path.
However, Italy's overall competitiveness performance continues to be hampered by some critical structural weaknesses in its economy.
and undermine investor confidence Italy is ranked 97th overall for its institutional environment. The efforts being undertaken by the present government to address such concerns,
The country's economy grew by 8. 4 percent in 2011 and benefits from considerable progress in a number of areas covered by the GCI.
Improvements to the institutional framework and greater competition in local markets have also been registered; these will further strengthen the country's competitive position.
which is characterized by intense local competition (16th). Turkey also benefits from its reasonably developed infrastructure (51st), particularly roads and air transport,
As in the case of other Southern European economies, Portugal continues to suffer from a deteriorating macroeconomic environment (116th)
or venture capital (97th) for their investment projects. In addition, labor markets are considered too rigid (137th) and the level of local competition low (82nd), mainly the result of a lack of liberalization in some services.
Several of the structural reforms that Portugal has implemented recently are directed to addressing all these weaknesses.
However, as for Spain, cuts in research and innovation and a drop in corporate innovation-related investments could continue to affect the capacity of firms to innovate (40th)
and therefore the capacity of the country to transform its economy and move toward higher-value-added activities. 6 The Global Competitiveness Report 2012 2013:
Country Profile Highlights 2012 World Economic Forum Following a protracted economic crisis, Ukraine bounces back to 73rd position in this year's GCI.
The country's competitiveness benefits notably from a healthier macroeconomic environment than in previous years.
and inflation was reduced, although it still remains fairly high at almost 8 percent. Overall, Ukraine maintains its competitive strengths;
Putting economic growth on a more stable footing in future will require Ukraine to address important challenges.
Ukraine could realize further efficiency gains from instilling more competition into the goods and services markets (117th) and continuing the reform of the financial and banking sector (114th).
Kazakhstan moves back up to 51st, a similar position to the one it held a few years ago.
A sharp improvement in the macroeconomic environment up from 44th to 22nd position because of low government debt and a government budget that has moved into surplus has not been enough to allow the country to compensate for the poorer assessment of its already weak public institutions (133rd
The weak level of competition (136th) caused by inefficient antimonopoly policies (124th) and high restrictions on trade and foreign ownership as well as the lack of trust in the financial system (134th) contributes to this inefficient allocation of Russia's vast resources,
hampering higher levels of productivity in the economy. Moreover, as the country moves toward a more advanced stage of economic development, its lack of business sophistication (119th) and low rates of technological adoption (137th) will become increasingly important challenges for its sustained progress.
In the context of the ongoing sovereign debt crisis, Greece continues to fall in the macroeconomic environment pillar,
and many of its economies have improved greatly their competitiveness over the past years. The excellent performance of some of the regional champions is reflected in the presence of six economies Singapore;
Hong kong SAR; Japan; Taiwan, China; the Republic of korea; and Australia within the top 20. However, significant and growing differences persist in terms of the competitiveness performance within the region, with countries such as Bangladesh (118th), Pakistan (124th),
Notable strengths include its highly efficient markets for goods, where the economy ranks 8th; its solid educational performance (9th;
Strengthening competitiveness will require continued improvements to the economy's institutional framework as well as stabilizing its macroeconomic environment,
The country boasts outstanding infrastructure (9th) and a sound macroeconomic environment (10th), with a government budget surplus above 2 percent of GDP and low level of public indebtedness.
After losing four positions to faster-improving economies last year, Australia retains its rank of 20th and score of 5. 1, just behind Korea.
Despite repeated budget deficits, its public debt amounts to a low 23 percent of GDP, the third lowest ratio among the advanced economies, behind only Estonia and Luxembourg.
transport infrastructure continues to suffer bottlenecks owing to the boom in commodity exports. Following improvements in last year's Report, Malaysia maintains its score
but drops four places as other economies move ahead. The most notable advantages are found in Malaysia's efficient and competitive market for goods and services (11th) and its remarkably supportive financial sector (6th),
as well as its business-friendly institutional framework. In a region where many economies suffer from the lack of transparency and the presence of red tape
Malaysia stands out as particularly successful at tackling those two issues. Yet, despite the progress achieved,
Lack of progress in this area will significantly undermine Malaysia's efforts to become a knowledge-based economy by the end of the decade.
The country continues to lead the BRICS economies by a wide margin, 2 ahead of second-placed Brazil (48th) by almost 20 ranks.
In this latter pillar, insufficient domestic and foreign competition is of particular concern, as the various barriers to entry appear to be more prevalent and more important than in previous years.
despite a prolonged episode of high inflation. China runs a moderate budget deficit; boasts a low, albeit increasing, government debt-to-GDP ratio of 26 percent;
The rating of its sovereign debt is significantly better than that of the other BRICS and indeed of many advanced economies.
On a more positive note, the macroeconomic environment continues to improve albeit marginally (27th, up one spot) as the budget deficit was reduced to less than 2 percent of GDP
and the macroeconomic environment is stable, judging by the country's 25th rank on the related pillar.
Inflation was reduced to around 5 percent in recent years after frequent episodes of double-digit inflation in the past decade.
addressing the many rigidities (134th) and inefficiencies of the labor market (70th) would allow for a smoother transition of the labor force to more productive sectors of the economy.
ICT, and energy infrastructure remains largely insufficient and ill-adapted to the needs of the economy (84th.
Meanwhile, the macroeconomic environment (99th) continues to be characterized by large and repeated public deficits and the highest debt-to-GDP ratio among the BRICS.
inflation returned to single-digit territory in 2011. Despite these considerable challenges, India does possess a number of strengths in the more advanced and complex drivers of competitiveness.
The macroeconomic environment also exhibits marked improvement (36th up 18) and represents one of the strongest aspects of the Philippine's performance,
As a sign of its fragility and extreme volatility, Vietnam plunges 41 places in the macroeconomic environment pillar to 106th after it had recorded a 20-place gain in the previous edition.
Inflation approached The Global Competitiveness Report 2012 2013: Country Profile Highlights 9 2012 World Economic Forum 20 percent in 2011, twice the level of 2010,
In an effort to stem inflation, the State bank of Vietnam tightened its monetary policy, thus making access to credit more difficult.
Infrastructure (95th), strained by rapid economic growth, remains a major challenge for the country despite some improvement in recent years, with particular concerns about the quality of roads (120th) and ports (113th.
Strong external demand for local commodities, especially from China and other Asian economies, coupled with good macroeconomic management have allowed the countries in the region to put their short-and medium-term growth outlooks on a glide path
Despite this rather optimistic outlook, the region may face the interrelated potential headwinds of a less robust recovery in the United states, a deceleration in the economic growth of China and other Asian emerging economies,
and the sovereign debt crisis in Southern Europe that is affecting the economic growth forecast in all of Europe.
Against this backdrop, boosting national competitiveness by raising productivity is the best way to ensure economic growth over the longer term and increase the region's resilience to economic shocks.
inefficient allocation of production resources caused by insufficient levels of competition, and a low capacity to generate new knowledge to strengthen R&d innovation in the region.
Chile, at 33rd place, shows a rather stable performance and remains the most competitive economy in Latin america.
As the economy steadily moves toward a higher stage of development, many economic activities will require higher levels of skills and innovation in order to increase their competitiveness potential.
Panama, at 40th place and nine ranks up since last year, continues its steady progress
and consolidates its position as the most competitive economy in Central america. Panama leverages its traditional strengths with its very good transport infrastructure (33rd), especially for ports (4th;
despite the worrying inflation rate of nearly 6 percent; its efficient financial markets (9th; and its relatively high levels of competition (31st) and openness to FDI (9th.
The country has made also progress in addressing some of the most pressing weaknesses that have hindered traditionally its competitiveness potential.
Corporate R&d investments (34th) appear now to contribute more to improving the country's innovative capacity (94th),
which remains one of the biggest challenges to diversifying the national economy. However, little progress is observed in Panama's institutional setup,
markets (92nd), loans (79th), or venture capital (94th. As a result, the business community continues to face important challenges in engaging in new investment projects.
Notwithstanding these serious weaknesses, which sharply affect economic activity, the country still benefits from well-functioning institutions (24th) and good infrastructure (22nd).
Moreover, a very high quality educational system (11th), a high use of ICT (32nd), and a fairly sophisticated business community (36th) help foster innovation in a service-oriented economy despite the low R&d investment (72nd) and technological innovation capacity (91st).
Entering the top 50, Brazil goes up five positions to attain 48th place on the back of a relative improvement in its macroeconomic condition despite its still-high inflation rate of nearly 7 percent and the rise in the use of ICT (54th).
Overall, Brazil's fairly sophisticated business community (33rd) enjoys the benefits of one of the world's largest internal markets (7th),
and continues to have fairly easy access to financing (40th) for its investment projects. Notwithstanding these strengths, the country also faces important challenges.
and the quality of education (116th) does not seem to match the increasing need for a skilled labor force.
Moreover, despite increasing efforts to facilitate entrepreneurship, especially for small companies, the procedures and time to start a business remain among the highest in the sample (130th and 139th,
in order to continue improving the competitive edge of the economy. The functioning of public institutions is assessed still poorly (100th) because of the high costs associated with the lack of security (137th) and the low trust of the business community in politicians (97th.
The lack of effective competition (100th), especially in some key strategic sectors, also hinders an efficient allocation of resources that spills over into most sectors of the economy.
Finally, Mexico's innovative potential is hampered by the low quality of education (100th) especially in math and science (124th), the low use of ICT (81st),
affecting the conditions for entrepreneurship. Continuing its rise of the past several years, Peru climbs six positions in the rankings to reach 61st place.
despite a rise in inflation have buttressed this upward trend, while the situation in most of the other pillars has remained stable
Furthermore, as the economy moves to higher levels of development and explores ways to diversify away from its large mining sector, its low quality of education (132nd), poor use of ICT (89th),
As the economy continues to improve steadily, with a growth rate of 4. 5 percent, unaddressed challenges in these areas that hinder the competitive edge of national businesses seem to become more evident,
As Uruguay's economy moves toward higher levels of development, some doubts arise about the ability of the traditionally praised educational system to generate the skills that businesses require (107th), the overall availability of scientist and engineers (117th),
and the intensity of local competition (46th). However, its competitiveness is hampered by a weak public institutional setup (130th)
and low R&d-related innovation investments (90th). The weak quality of its transport infrastructure (93rd) also negatively affects its national competitiveness.
and its high number of university enrollment rates (20th) that should provide local firms with a skilled labor force.
Structural reforms to improve the functioning of the goods markets by increasing domestic competition (143rd)
and reducing the barriers to entrepreneurship, increase the flexibility of the labor markets (142nd), and ease access to financing by deepening the financial market could result in important efficiency gains that could boost Argentina's productivity.
This, coupled with weak macroeconomic management (126th) resulting in inflation rates above 20 percent and a budget deficit above 5 percent of national GDP,
Low domestic competition (144th excessive red tape when starting a business (141st), and high trade tariffs (125th) as well as rules and regulations that deter FDI (144th) limit the efficiency of good markets.
Rigidities in the labor market (144th) and weak financial development (133rd) also affect the development of business opportunities.
while economies that were affected more significantly by unrest and political transformations tend to drop or stagnate in terms of national competitiveness.
Qatar reaffirms once again its position as the most competitive economy in the region by moving up three places to 11th position
sustained by improvements in its macroeconomic environment, the efficiency of its markets for goods and services,
Its strong performance in terms of competitiveness rests on solid foundations made up of a high-quality institutional framework, a stable macroeconomic environment (2nd),
reducing the country's vulnerability to commodity price fluctuations will require diversification into other sectors of the economy
and by fostering more openness to foreign competition currently ranked at 42nd, reflecting barriers to international trade and investment.
Its macroeconomic environment benefits from rising energy prices, which buoyed the budget balance into an even higher surplus in 2011.
and the country attempts to diversify its economy, which will require a more skilled and educated workforce.
especially as this is an area where Saudi arabia continues to lag behind other Gulf economies. The United arab emirates gains three places in the GCI to take the 24th position.
Going forward, putting the country on a more stable development path will require further investment to boost health and educational outcomes.
Its favorable financial environment, particularly evident in the ease of access to venture capital (3rd), has contributed to making Israel The Global Competitiveness Report 2012 2013:
If not addressed, poor educational quality particularly in math and science (89th) could undermine the country's innovation-driven competitiveness strategy over the longer term.
Room for improvement also remains with respect to the macroeconomic environment (64th), where increased budgetary discipline with a view to reducing debt levels (121st) would help the country maintain stability
and support economic growth going into the future. Jordan improves by seven positions to 64th rank. The country was affected considerably by the global financial and economic crisis in recent years.
GDP growth slowed down to 2. 3 percent annually in 2010 and has returned not to pre-crisis levels
Stabilizing the macroeconomic environment should remain on the agenda and should be accompanied by growth-enhancing structural reforms.
Jordan could also benefit from more openness to international trade and investment, which would trigger efficiency gains in the domestic economy as well as transfer of knowledge and technology.
Tariff barriers remain high in international comparison (104th) and regulatory barriers to FDI remain in place (70th).
Many economic policy challenges lie ahead for the new government to put the country on a sustainable and equitable growth path.
For Egypt to more fully benefit from the considerable potential that lies in its large market size and proximity to key global markets, the country will have to raise its productive potential across the domestic economy.
First, the macroeconomic environment has deteriorated over recent years to reach 138th position mainly because of widening fiscal deficit
Second, measures to intensify domestic competition would result in efficiency gains and contribute to energizing the economy by allowing for new entrants.
And third, making labor markets flexible (135th) and more efficient (141st) would allow the country to increase employment in the medium term.
Indeed, the region has bounced back rapidly from the global economic crisis, when GDP growth dropped to 2. 8 percent in 2009.
While some African economies improve with respect to national competitiveness this year South africa and Mauritius, the two African countries in the top half of the rankings, remain stable.
remaining the highest-ranked country in Sub-saharan africa and the third-placed among the BRICS economies.
The country benefits from the large size of its economy particularly by regional standards (it ranks 25th in the market size 14 The Global Competitiveness Report 2012 2013:
These combined attributes make South africa the most competitive economy in the region. However, in order to further enhance its competitiveness,
The high business costs of crime and violence (134th) and the sense that the police are unable to provide sufficient protection from crime (90th) do not contribute to an environment that fosters competitiveness.
which is ranked 132nd out of 144 economies the result of high rates of communicable diseases and poor health indicators more generally.
and a good security environment. Its labor markets are efficient, its financial markets are developed relatively well,
although the quality of education particularly in math and science is perceived to be rather poor by the business community.
Botswana moves up one place to 79th, one of the top five economies in the region.
Although improving since last year, Botswana's macroeconomic environment remains of some concern and is ranked 81st this year.
The country continues to benefit from a relatively well functioning institutional environment (52nd), with well-protected property rights, an independent judiciary,
The economy is supported also by financial markets that are developed well by international standards (24th) and a relatively efficient labor market (39th.
and a drop in inflation, although it remains in the double digits) and a financial sector that is recovering from its 2009 crisis. The country has a number of strengths on
which provides its companies with opportunities for economies of scale. Nigeria's businesses are sophisticated also by regional standards (66th), with some cluster development,
despite a slight improvement since last year, the institutional environment does not support a competitive economy because of concerns about the protection of property rights, ethics and corruption, undue influence,
And despite efforts to improve its macroeconomic environment including the dollarization of its economy in early 2009
which brought down inflation and interest rates the situation continues to be bad enough to place Zimbabwe among the lowest-ranked countries in this pillar (122nd),
Mozambique ranks 138th this year and needs improvements across many areas to lift the economy onto a sustainable growth and development path, particularly in view of its natural resource potential.
Macroeconomic stability is undermined further by double-digit inflation, although recent efforts seem to be bearing some fruit in containing price rises.
including critical investments across all modes of infrastructure (rank 129th), establishing a regulatory framework that encourages competition to foster economic diversification,
and developing a sound financial market (134th). Also critical, in view of the country's rapidly growing population and high unemployment, are investing in the healthcare system and primary education (137th) as well as higher education and training (138th.
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