Page 238 - Foundations of Marketing

Reaching Global Markets | Chapter 8 205

Global Business
Apple opens a retail store in
Hong Kong to target the profit-
able Chinese market.

© iStockphoto.com /winhorse

Each country has unique competitive aspects—often founded in the other environmental
forces (i.e., sociocultural, technological, political, legal, regulatory, and economic forces)—
that are often independent of the competitors in that market. The most globally competitive
countries are listed in Table 8.3 . Although competitors drive competition, nations establish
the infrastructure and the rules for the types of competition that can take place. For exam-
ple, the laws against antitrust in the European Union are often perceived as being stricter
than those in the United States. The New York Stock Exchange found this out firsthand after

Table 8.3 Ranking of the Most Competitive Countries in the World

Rank Country Rank Country
1 Switzerland 11 Qatar

2 Singapore 12 Denmark

3 Finland 13 Taiwan, China
4 Sweden 14 Canada

5 Netherlands 15 Norway

6 Germany 16 Austria
7 United States 17 Belgium

8 United Kingdom 18 Saudi Arabia

9 Hong Kong SAR 19 Korea (Rep.)
10 Japan 20 Australia

Source: Klaus Schwab and Xavier Sala-i-Martin (ed.), The Global Competitiveness Report 2012–2013 , www3.weforum
.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2012-13.pdf (accessed January 3, 2013).

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