Description
(Text)
This book provides a unique empirical investigation of how Switzerland, a mountainous, landlocked nation with scarce natural resources, has become and remained internationally successful in a wide range of industries. This fascinating collection of case studies employs a framework which integrates findings from the fields of business administration and international economics to explain how Swiss firms achieved competitive advantage in both well-known success stories like the Swiss dyestuff, pharmaceutical, banking, watch, and textile machinery industries, and lesser-known, but equally interesting examples like the Swiss sugar confectionery, fire detection, comfort controls, and international freight forwarding industries. The editors use the studies to explore the patterns of Switzerland's historical success and to assess the nation's prospects for future prosperity.
(Author portrait)
The Editors: Michael J. Enright, born in 1958, is an Assistant Professor at the Harvard Business School, where he specializes in issues of international competition and competitiveness. He has written several academic papers and has co-authored Internationale Wettbewerbsvorteile: Ein strategisches Konzept für die Schweiz, Upgrading New Zealand's Competitive Advantage and Venezuela: El reto de la competitividad. He has also advised firms, governments, and development organizations on five continents.
Rolf Weder, born in 1960, was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Simon Fraser University (Canada) from 1991 to 1993 and is now a Research Fellow at the Department of Economics of the University of Basel specializing in international economics. In addition to scholarly articles in journals and books, he has written Joint Venture and Schweiz-Dritte Welt. Impulse für eine künftige Entwicklungspolitik. He also co-authored Internationale Wettbewerbsvorteile: Ein strategisches Konzept für die Schweiz and Effiziente Entwicklungszusammenarbeit durch Spezialisierung.
The Contributors: Désirée Bandelier, Silvio Borner, Urs Bumbacher, Michael J. Enright, Michael E. Porter, Christian Rappo, Felix Richterich, Rolf Weder
