There is no widely agreed definition of national innovation systems. National innovation systems are built on the assumption that understanding the interconnectedness of the actors engaged in innovation is crucial to enhancing technical performance. Innovation and technological advancement are the outcomes of a multifaceted network of connections between actors who produce, transmit, and consume various types of knowledge. The manners in which these actors interrelate with one another as components of a social system of knowledge consumption and generation, and also the technology they employ, have a significant influence on a country’s creative performance. The most prevalent actors are public research institutions, universities, and commercial enterprises, as well as the individuals who work for them. Equipment acquisitions, cross-patenting, personnel exchanges, joint research, and a number of other methods can be used to establish links. The analysis of national innovation systems emphasis on knowledge flows. The focus of analysis is increasingly Continue reading
International Business
International Business Management deals with the maintenance and development of a multinational operation across national borders, whose manager has the knowledge and the skills to manage and handle cross-cultural processes, stakeholders and business environments in a right way.
Analysis of Porter’s Diamond Model of National Advantage
Michael Porter introduced the diamond model of national competitive advantage (1990) to explain why a number of countries are more competitive than others and why a number of businesses within the countries are more competitive. Porter’s Diamond Model proposes that the national home base of an industry plays an important role in achieving an advantage on a universal scale. This home base contributes the essential factors that will support the organisations in building advantages in global competition. Porter identified four determinants in attaining a national competitive advantage he concludes that a combination of the four determinants within a nation has an enormous influence on the competitive strength of the firms located there. Porter argues that competitive industries take the form of specialized clusters of home based firms. Clusters are correlated through vertical relations such as buyers integrating with suppliers or through horizontal relations through customers, technology, skills, distribution channels etc. Continue reading
Competitive Advantages of International Business
Competition has always been central to the agenda of firms. It has become one of the enduring themes of our times and the rising intensity of competition has continued until this day thereby spreading to more and more countries. As a result of globalization, most industries with the topics of international business and competitive advantage have received much attention from business executives, public policy makers and scholars in recent years. This; in conjunction with the rise of global competitors has helped to explain why a country’s competitive advantage can be determined by the strength of its business firms. This has resulted in numerous rankings, where industries and firms are compared on a global scale to see which are the most competitive. Most firms prefer to compete in the business environment so that it will help determine the competitive advantage of the country in which they operate. A firm’s ability to Continue reading
Payment Terms in International Trade: Open Account, Barter Trade and Bank Guarantee
Open Account From the seller’s point of view the Open Account is the most unsatisfactory international business payment system. Under this payment system the arrangement is that the buyer pays at the end of an agreed period. The seller consigns the goods directly to the buyer or to his order and documents pertaining to the goods are sent directly to the buyer enabling him to take delivery of the goods. Under this payment system the seller after having supplied goods is purely at the mercy of the buyer. Such a payment is normally in those trading arrangements requiring a high degree or trust between the buyer and the seller and a regular continuous business relationship between the two parties. Advantage of this payment system, is that since there is no involvement of a bank, there is less paper work and consequently lesser costs. This system is more beneficial to a Continue reading
International Negotiations – Theory and Examples
Negotiations are an integral part of every person’s life, and they are considered in several areas of applied research. For instance, management technologies, communication practices, and conflict studies of social and international relations are crucial for this process. In professional terms, negotiations previously constituted a significant part of the activities of a narrow circle of politicians and diplomats. Now, as the world becomes more open and interdependent, the negotiation process has become an integral attribute of the life of a more significant number of individuals and organizations. There are always differences between the interests of the parties and the resulting conflict between opposing positions. In this regard, the problem of training professional personnel with negotiation skills is of great importance. The term negotiation is most often understood as communication between the parties to reach an agreement. Negotiations are also defined as the relationship between people, designed to reach an agreement Continue reading
Terms of Credit in Export Finance
The terms of credit are contractual matters of prior arrangements between buyer and seller, and their determination depends upon a number of such factors as the type of merchandise to be shipped, the availability of the merchandise, the amount involved, the market customs, the credit standing of the buyer, the country in which the consignee is located, the exchange restrictions existing in that country, the amount due from the buyer at the time the shipment is made, the availability of freight space to the country of destination, whether the account is a new one or an old one, and many other considerations. The terms of sale should be carefully distinguished from the closely related ‘terms of credits’. The terms of sale are the conditions of content, time, place and delivery of the merchandise, and only indirectly affect the extension of credit or the length of time for which credit is Continue reading