Page 8 - COMPASS - COMPETITIVENESS REPORT 2022 - COUNCIL OF COMPETITIVENESS IN GREECE

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THE PURPOSE OF COMPETITIVENESS
THIS REPORT AND INNOVATION

The main purpose of this report is to serve as a compass While markets have undergone radical changes since Druck-
for all policymakers at various levels, as well as for all those er’s days, they nonetheless continue to pursue innovation,
who support the effort to develop a dynamic methodology because innovation is a fundamental driver of economic
framework that allows certain goals to be achieved, namely: progress that benefits consumers, businesses, and the econ-
omy in general.
1. extensive analysis of innovation initiatives that
serve as a lever to foster and promote competitiveness in In economic theory, the term innovation describes the
business, shining a spotlight on the importance of creating development and application of ideas and technologies that
strong links between innovation, scientific research and improve goods and services or make their production more
business, as well as on the state and society, as perhaps the efficient (ECB, 2017), contributing added value and elevating
most critical factor in gaining competitive advantage and them in the value chain.
developing new impetus in the production and business
model of Greece; and Furthermore, the significance and impact of systematic mea-
surement of innovation processes is directly linked to the in-
2. systematic monitoring of the development over teraction between innovation, improvements in competitive-
time of Greece’s competitiveness, based on the analysis of ness, and economic growth. By extension, and as thoroughly
indices published by authoritative international organisa- proven by empirical evidence, higher competitiveness is
tions, and the submittal of calls to action in priority areas to directly correlated to the level of prosperity of a society.
address challenges concerning innovation, competitiveness
and prospects for economic growth, taking into account In response to the increasingly wider dissemination of
relevant efforts that have been realised or are currently un- technology and the progression of the Fourth Industrial
derway in Greece, as well as the influence of various external Revolution, in the last five years, the World Economic Forum
forces. (WEF) has introduced a modified methodology for assessing
economies and their competitiveness, with all pillars exam-
ined now weighted equally. It became clear that a country’s
By examining all the above, we are able to determine key GDP by itself cannot determine competitiveness unless it is
priorities and put forth proposals to enhance the prospects backed by strong innovation systems; consequently, com-
of innovative businesses to further increase their compet- petitiveness no longer hinges on the size of an economy,
itiveness and achieve organic and sustainable growth. It is and more weight is given to the economy’s fundamentals,
worth noting that this is the Compass report’s third consec- such as institutions, innovation capacity, business dynamism,
utive year identifying the country’s main pillars of compet- a suitably skilled workforce, health and labour costs as well
itiveness. The focus of this year’s edition is on innovation, as, of course, the possibility of long-term direct investment.
underlining the fact that the adoption of innovation into
business culture is a key priority in the effort to boost the
competitiveness and strengthen the resilience of Greek
business.