Explaining the Concept of Competitiveness in Research and Technology

One of the major and affective factors influencing competitiveness ranking of countries is research and technology and this is because of today technology increasingly has influenced different levels of competitiveness, and achieving competitiveness through technology requires technological innovation. As research and technology is a prerequisite for technological innovation, then, research and technology competitiveness is a strategic eligible for seizing competitive advantage through technology. Hence, emphasize on the role of research and technology to increase the competitiveness index of countries, regardless of the competitiveness of its research and technology would not make sense.
Research and technology competitiveness is an area that despite its importance and its heavy investment on knowledge-based development by Iran’s government, so far has been little studied. The purpose of this article is to explain the concept of competitiveness for research and technology. Accordingly, first, the concept of competition and competitiveness and different levels of competitiveness is are reviewed and then, the different levels of research and technology competitiveness in four levels of national, between sectors and within sectors and technological competence areas are described. Finally, some implication are provided for managers and conclusion is drawn from the discussion.