The Competitive Advantage of Greece: An Application of Porter's Diamond

The question of why certain firms or certain industries based in particular countries are highly successful in international competition has troubled researchers. In the 1990s Michael Porter made a contribution to this field of research. The resulting diamond framework captures a range of attributes that, according to Porter, explains the creation of competitive advantage. This text applies the diamond framework to the case of Greece. It presents Porter's framework, its applications and the relevant criticisms, followed by an analysis of the Greek economic environment and the Greek trade data. Then five in-depth case studies of particular industries are analyzed, which offer the basis for reaching certain conclusions regarding the applicability of the diamond framework in the Greek case.