Competitiveness strategies for the international scientific--academic associations and clusters.

Popa, Horia Liviu ; Mocan, Marian Liviu ; Pater, Liana Rodica 等

Abstract: The coopetition among International Academic and Research & Development Associations {IARDA} and among clusters requires the development and implementation of a new innovative and integrative management of the competitiveness. For the {IARDA} and clusters have not been yet rigorously studied the specific ways and programs for competitiveness increase. We define a unitary methodology for the competitiveness strategy of IARDA and clusters that include International Academic and Research & Development Associations.

Key words: competitiveness strategy, unitary methodology, {IARDA}.

1. INTRODUCTION

The universities {U}, resear ch-development institutes {R&DI}, their associations {ARDA} and their international associations {IARDA} have always been, are and will be leading organizations in the knowledge, education, innovation and social progress. The process of accelerated globalisation after 1970 determines the U, R&DI, ARDA, IARDA and clusters to become competitive on short time, to be competitive as long time as possible, or to pass away on medium-long time.

The paper's aim is to contribute at elaborating of a new method in strategic management which, developed and applied can determine the systematic increase of the {IARDA} and cluster's competitiveness.

Further research will elaborate the results of this paper.

2. UNITARY METHODOLOGY IN THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF THE IARDA AND CLUSTER COMPETITIVENESS

The competitiveness management of the IARDA and cluster is more complex than the management of the universities competitiveness (Popa, 2005), because the IARDA and clusters coopetition achieves in all the 7 external international environments (Popa & Mocan, 2005).

The strategic management of the IARDA and cluster competitiveness takes place continuously, having a cycle of two years and the management process meets four periods.

A unitary method for the strategic competitiveness management of the IARDA and cluster develops on 12 stages (Fig. 1):

1) The strategic competitiveness management object definition (OMK) and the formulation way of the competitiveness plan,

2) The elaboration / actualisation of the competitiveness profile of the OMK (multidimensional identification: absolutely, relatively, profile, market value etc.),

3) The competitiveness analysis of the OMK in a given time of [+ or -] 3 years (the SWOT complex method, with the check list "1+10"; portfolio methods, benchmarking etc.), the result being the competitiveness diagnosis,

4) The market and external / internal environments survey and the marketing opportunities analysis for the OMK in a given time of + 5 years grouped on target markets / segments / niches, as an OMK adaptation basis firstly to all external environments,

5) The formulation / actualisation of the DAS strategical actions directions for the OMK competitiveness development in target markets / segments / niches, for a given very long time of + (10,....35) years, based on the diagnoses and prognoses from stages 3) and 4), on the aims and competitiveness / objectives for the entity; from these performances recurrently and integrative are deducted in the competitiveness plan the aims and objectives for L) Long-term successive-parallel strategies (2--10 years, depending on the life-cycle duration of the entity and on its products), A) Average-term successive-parallel tactics (1--2 years), S) Short-term successive-parallel schedules (less than 1 year),

6) The vision, aim, mission and objectives {[y.sub.p]} definition on long (> 2 years) and medium term (1 ... 2 years) for OMK on reasonable and feasible alternatives {[V.sub.j]} in correlation with the strategical action direction DAS formulated in the stage 5),

7) The {[V.sub.j]} strategical competitive alternatives elaboration for the OMK in a detailed and correlated manner:

--Strategies of marketing & OMK strategies (> 2 years)

--Marketing-mix strategies & OMK subsystem strategies (1--2 years)

--Marketing-mix component parts strategies & function f strategies (1--2 years) for entity

8) The strategically alternatives {[V.sub.j]} analysis with portfolio, risk, efficiency, etc. methods and the optimal strategies selection {[V.sub.opt]} for OMK on very long, long and medium term, grounded with multi-attribute mathematical methods,

9) The formal details of the optimal strategies for the OMK (Popa et al., 2002), (Popa, 2003).

10) The competitive strategies application in an inter-correlated manner and the mobilisation and development of all resources around the optimal strategies for OMK.

11) The monitorisation of the optimal strategies application for the OMK at all hierarchical levels,

12) The continuous strategical control and the competitiveness control for the OMK and its external environments realised at all levels of the strategical / tactical planning, organisation, processing, and decision.

The long term development of the OMK competitiveness requires also the competitiveness quantification for all stages of the strategical / tactical process, using in an inter-correlated manner the variety of assessments (Popa & Pater, 2006).

3. CONCLUSIONS

The new elaborated unitary methodology in the strategic management of the IARDA and cluster competitiveness allows the efficient application of the competitiveness integrative management at all levels.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

4. REFERENCES

Popa, H.L.; e.a. (2002). Strategic management (in Romanian), Editura Dacia, ISBN 973-35-1524-8, Cluj-Napoca

Popa, H.L. (2003). The theory and engineering of the systems. Concepts, models, methods, competitiveness (in Romanian), Editura Politehnica, ISBN 973-8247-74-8, Timisoara

Popa, H.L. & Mocan M. (2005). Centres, clusters and competitiveness programmes in the enlarged Europe, Proceedings of the 4th DAAAM International Conference on Advanced Technologies for Developing Countries, Kljajin, M., (Ed.), pp. 637-642, ISBN 953-6048-29-9, Slavonski Brod, Croatia, September 21-24, 2005, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Mechanical Engineering Faculty in Slavonski Brod, DAAAM International Vienna

Popa, H.L. (2005). Unitary met hodology in the management of the universities competitiveness, Scientific Bulletin of the "POLITEHNICA" University of Timisoara, Romania, Transactions on Management. Engineering Economy.

Transportation Engineering, Tom 50 (64), 2005, pp. 19-30, 2005, ISSN 1224-6050

Popa, H.L. & Pater L.R. (2006). The valuation of the enterprises and products competitiveness, Technical Gazette. Scientific-professional journal of technical faculties of the University of Osijek, Vol. 13, No. 1-2, January-June, 2006, pp. 637-642, ISSN 1330-3651