Industrial competitiveness analysis: Using the analytic hierarchy process

Industrial competitiveness is an important issue for countries pursuing export-oriented industrialization policies. Assessing the competitiveness of an industry is a complex process and it can be analyzed from several perspectives. This paper proposes that the aggregate performance of many firms in a particular industry can reflect the competitiveness of that industry as a whole. Based on theories from strategic management and operations management research, it presents an AHP-based model to comprehensively explore the varying degrees of importance of the indicators and drivers of industrial competitiveness. The model helps to identify the degree to which organizational performance indicators are important when assessing industrial competitiveness. Further, it helps to evaluate the importance of particular factors that drive firms to perform better. The paper presents an application of this model by applying it to the automotive components industry in Thailand.