Drivers of Global Competitiveness in the European Union Countries in 2014 and 2017

Abstract Background and Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to find the key drivers of Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) in the European Union (EU-28) countries from the aspect of country’s global competitiveness: institutions, macroeconomic environment, infrastructure, higher education, market effectiveness, market size, technological readiness, innovation and business sophistication. Methodology: This paper investigates global competitiveness of the EU-28 countries with the use of GCI in the periods 2014-2015 and 2017-2018. The correlation analysis and regression analysis are applied for testing the set two hypotheses. Results: The empirical results confirmed our hypotheses that GCI is particularly significantly positively correlated with innovation and business sophistication, and universities-industry collaboration in researches, and clusters development. Conclusion: The paper contributes to the literature of global competitiveness, by examining the relationship of sub-indexes of competitiveness of the EU-28 countries, pointing out the influence of universities-industries collaboration in researches and cluster development with geographic concentration of companies. The results and findings can be relevant for science, economic and research policy, and managerial practices that enhance innovation and business sophistication for research in collaboration of companies, universities, higher education institutions, and decision makers. The implications of this study can be important for better understanding of drivers of the EU-28 countries global competitiveness.