What role does the Internet play in international competitiveness?
Helen Dereskey (2014) writes that “New technology specific to a firm’s products represents a key competitive advantage to firms and challenges international businesses to manage the transfer and diffusion of proprietary with its attendant risks” (pp. 28, 30). She claims that the competitive edge of technology depends upon its level of specificity. In other words, new technology holds competitive potential if it is specific to a firm’s market.
How is this significant for the role of the internet in international competitiveness? International firms that can coordinate their product or service with the specific features of the internet may garner more advantages from web technologies. According to Dereskey, the internet plays a substantial role in international competitiveness, because its broad capabilities enable most firms to adapt its technology to their specific market and thus foster competition.
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How can managers protect the proprietary technology of their firms?
Dereskey names three major protectors of technology: “In most countries, governments use their laws to some extent to control the flow of technology. . . . Other countries in earlier stages of development use their investment laws to acquire needed technology. . . . The most common methods of protecting proprietary technology are the use of patents, trademarks, trade names, copyrights, and trade secrets” (p. 30). In short, governments, investment laws, and common business protections guard proprietary technology. Managers can cull from all of these, depending on the context and their relations with the government. However, most commonly, managers protect their proprietary technology through private means: patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc.
