The Competitive Advantage of Nations ^{2nd Ed.}

The Competitive Advantage of Nations is one of the most influential business and management books of all time. Michael Porter's research identified the fundamental determinants of national competitive advantage in an industry and how they work together to give international advantage. The findings are rich in implications for firms and governments and set the agenda for discussions of global competition. The book was an extraordinary achievement and had a profound effect upon management, policy-makers and academics worldwide. The core ideas of the book remain very relevant today and this new edition includes the original text in full with a new introduction by the author, which reviews the key themes and issues of the book in the light of subsequent developments. This book represents one of the very few must buys in business and management.

1. The Need for a New Paradigm
• Conflicting Explanations
• Asking the Right Question
• Classical Rationales for Industry Success
• The Need for a New Paradigm
• Toward a New Theory of National Competitive Advantage
• The Study
• A Broader Concept of Competitive Advantage
• PART I: FOUNDATIONS
2. The Competitive Advantage of Firms in Global Industries
• Competitive Strategy
• Competing Internationally
• The Role of National Circumstances in Competitive Success
3. Determinants of National Competitive Advantage
• Determinants of National Advantage
• Factor Conditions
• Demand Conditions
• Related and Supporting Industries
• Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry
• The Role of Chance
• The Role of Government
• The Determinants in Perspective
4. The Dynamics of National Advantage
• Relationships Among the Determinants
• The Determinants as a System
• Clustering of Competitive Industries
• The Role of Geographic Concentration
• The Genesis and Evolution of a Competitive Industry
• The Loss of National Advantage
• The Diamond in Perspective
• PART II: INDUSTRIES
5. Four Studies in National Competitive Advantage
• The German Printing Press Industry
• The American Patient Monitoring Equipment Industry
• The Italian Ceramic Tile Industry
• The Japanese Robotics Industry
6. National Competitive Advantage in Services
• The Growing Role of Services in National Economies
• International Competition in Services
• The Relationship Between Services and Manufacturing
• National Competitive Advantage in Services
• Case Studies in the Development of Competitive Service Industries
• PART III: NATIONS
7. Patterns of National Competitive Advantage: The Early Postwar Winners
• American Postwar Dominance
• Stable Switzerland
• Sweden's Choices
• Renewing German Dynamism 
8. Emerging Nations in the 1970s and 1980s
• The Rise of Japan
• Surging Italy
• Emerging Korea
9. Shifting National Advantage
• The Slide of Britain
• Crosscurrents in America
• Postwar Development in Perspective
10. The Competitive Development of National Economies
• Economic Development
• Stages of Competitive Development
• The Stages and the Postwar Economies of Nations
• Postwar Economic Progress in Perspective
• PART IV: IMPLICATIONS
11. Company Strategy
• Competitive Advantage in International Competition
• The Context for Competitive Advantage
• Improving the National Competitive Environment
• Where and How to Compete
• Tapping Selective Advantages in Other Nations
• Locating the Home Base
• The Role of Leadership
12. Government Policy
• Premises of Government Policy Toward Industry
• Government Policy and National Advantage
• Government's Effect on Factor Conditions
• Government's Effect on Demand Conditions
• Government's Effect on Related and Supporting Industries
• Government's Effect on Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry
• Government Policy and the Stages of Competitive Development
• Targeting
• Government Policy in Developing Nations
• The Role of Government
13. National Agendas
• The Agenda for Korea
• The Agenda for Italy
• The Agenda for Sweden
• The Agenda for Japan
• The Agenda for Switzerland
• The Agenda for Germany
• The Agenda for Britain
• The Agenda for the United States
• National Agendas in Perspective
• Epilogue
• Appendix A. Methodology for Preparing the Cluster Charts
• Appendix B. Supplementary Data on National Trade Patterns

A classical text.

Read the chapters about Sweden and Switzerland, if nothing else.

Absolutely not bedside reading.

Was in the end forced to read the whole book, but can't say I enjoyed it, even though there are valuable information in it.