TRENDS AND CHANGES IN GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS

The world economy and world trade are characterized by new trends in global competitiveness. The new trends reflect the significant changes in competitiveness of individual countries in the world market. Process of globalisation, increase of global foreign direct investments flows and activities of transnational companies have a great impact on the increasing international market shares of some countries and their competitiveness. Transnational companies are the key drivers of global competitiveness. These companies can contribute to the upgrading of a country's competitiveness by creating the different kinds of linkages with local economy. Each of the two countries selected for analysis in the paper experienced a sharp increase in market shares and competitiveness connected with a significant increase of foreign direct investments inflows and activities of transnational companies. But, as the paper will show, the activities of transnational companies were embedded in their economies in different extents. The potential of activities of transnational companies is far from its full capacity and in these two countries, as in the others, depends on implementation of national foreign direct investments policies.

Key words: global competitiveness, transnational companies.

JEL Classification: F01