Perspectives in Managing State Global Competitiveness

Abstract

Singapore ranks second after Switzerland in the Global Competitiveness Index 2015/6, placing it ahead of some advanced economies of the Nordic region. Singapore's development model has been studied mostly from an economic perspective in specific socio-political contexts. Part of the Singapore governance strategy in managing its differential (heterochronic) developmental complexity at domestic and international levels is through its national discourses. These national discourses are multileveled and targeted at different spheres of influence. This chapter brings a complementary language in international business perspective with theoretical foundations in biological evolution theory applied to state governance. It uses a four-quadrant Götheborg IV model of visualization, illustrating how Singapore's national discourses act in dialogic complementarity, bolstering state competitiveness. It shows how state development complexity is managed in Singapore's current vision of a Smart Nation, with its ambition of becoming a global first in future living in the global circular economy.