Author(s)

M. St.Quintin

Abstract

Competitive advantage in the software industry M. St.Quintin ABSTRACT The software industry is defined to include all software development activities, regardless of whether the development is done as the firm's primary business activity, as part of the development of software embedded in the firm's prod- ucts, or to meet internal information processing needs. Porter's 1 Diamond Model is used to identify the determinants of national ad- vantage for the software industry, including the role of government as a support- ing or detracting factor. In the case of the computer industry, it is shown how Japan's Ministry for International Trade and Industry used developmental strategies to establish a national competitive advantage. However, caution should be exercised in attempting to apply this model in all situations. Direct government intervention and state ownership aimed at achieving short term na- tional objectives are viewed as an impediment to competitiveness. Canadian ex- amples of

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