REGIONAL COOPERATION AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

Part IV
CEFTA-2006 AND ENHANCING COMPETITIVENESS
OF THE REGION - SOME SECTORAL ASPECTS
Ivan-Damir Anić, Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate
The Institute of Economics,
Zagreb, Croatia
Edo Rajh, Ph.D.
Research Associate
The Institute of Economics,
Zagreb, Croatia
Ivan Teodorović, Ph.D.
Senior Research Fellow
The Institute of Economics,
Zagreb, Croatia
SOURCES OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN THE CROATIAN
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
Abstract
The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationships between firms’ characteristics,
strategic behavior of manufacturing firms and firms’ performance (measured as value
added per employee). The research questions were tested with data collected from
company survey carried out during the period of October-December 2007 in Croatia. The
data was analyzed using chi-square test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The
results indicate that company size, technological intensity and firms’ experience do affect
the performance differences among companies. Higher percentage of small companies
appeared to have higher productivity as compared to medium-sized and large companies.
Younger firms outperformed older firms, while companies with higher level of technological
intensity had higher productivity than those with lower technological level. Furthermore,
the paper identifies several strategic behavior variables that affect firms’ performance.
High performing companies had higher volume of sales per employee and higher levels of
profit per employee. Finally, the paper discusses implications of findings for policy makers
and managers.
Key words: manufacturing industry, performance, sources of competitive advantage,
strategy, Croatia
215