Enhancing national competitiveness through national cooperation: The case of South Korea and Dubai

The purpose of this paper is to explore how countries can make a more efficient and effective cooperation strategy, considering their competitive strengths and weaknesses.

This paper is an exploratory study in examining the efficient way of national cooperation from the competitiveness perspective. By applying the double diamond-based nine-factor model and the framework for the life cycle of national competitiveness, this study proposes the importance of cooperation strategy, considering the current competitiveness status. A case study of two economies of South Korea (hereafter referred to as Korea) and Dubai reveals a potentially substantial cooperative relationship.

Although Korea and Dubai are geographically and culturally distant, they share complementary resources to enhance their overall competitiveness. In addition, their past experiences of growth can effectively deal with their current challenges and help their economies move to more advanced stage.

The methodology used in this paper can provide a useful guideline for policy makers to examine the current development status of their economies, find an appropriate cooperation partner and decide the priority of cooperating areas.

Although most existing studies explain national competitiveness from a narrow perspective, this paper provides a more comprehensive analysis using the extended model of Porter’s single diamond model. In addition, this paper conducts an intensive case study of Dubai and Korea for possible cooperation.