Does tomorrow’s competitiveness roots in the emerging start-up era? Mixed method research using secondary data and interviews

Absztrakt (kivonat)

Competitiveness today is in the hands of – among others – the USA and Singapore, but competitiveness in the future can be much more divided, depending also on the ability of the countries to adapting the accelerating competition between nations, which also includes the wounded development of the Startup ecosystem. Globalization becomes faster and larger scale every day, and with its increasing importance on the national and corporate levels, competitiveness is more important than ever. Therefore, competitiveness plays a crucial role in the comparison of nations, sectors, or corporates. Start-ups are rapidly emerging worldwide, and their presence significantly supports and promotes a nation's economy. The research objective was to reveal and introduce if startups and competitiveness impact each other, and if yes, then in what ways. The paper is mixed-method research by combining primary and secondary data. Several databases were processed, and more than 100 startups were directly connected, completed with the interviews. Researching these two aspects served with a new perspective of analyzing the competitiveness of nations or regions and analyzing the start-up ecosystems delivered significant conclusions mainly in political, but partly also in a managerial context. Based on the literature review of competitiveness and startups, and the analysis of the competitiveness ranking and the startup ecosystem of the chosen countries, it was concluded that there is a connection between competitiveness and the startup ecosystem of a country. The analysis of certain countries showed that investing in the advancement of the startup ecosystem can significantly enhance the competitiveness of the country and that strong competitiveness attracts startups, reviving the startup ecosystem. The paper was also extended by international interviews, in which Asian entrepreneurs were interviewed from Singapore to further validate the key findings of the analysis of the countries by providing data on the mechanisms of the startup ecosystem. The findings of the interviews include several significant aspects like regional competitive advantage, market outlook, and governmental support to the startup economy. The interviews validated that startups and competitiveness work together, if one develops, then it impacts the other. Based on these conclusions it can be stated that the indicator of competitiveness and the startup ecosystem of a country are in a reciprocating relation.