Competitiveness has now become a buzzword like globalization. It has received attention from researchers, governments and business organizations because of its close association with the success of an entity. In the past decades, many works on competitiveness with different perspectives have been published. But competitiveness is yet an elusive concept, the relevance of which is changing with time. There is a need for a comprehensive review of extant literature on the subject. This review article presents the state-of-the-art development of competitiveness research. To begin with, the article lays the foundation for basic understanding on competitiveness at various levels, such as nation, industry and the firm. After elaborating on the theories of competitiveness that have evolved over the years, it gives insight on the measurement models. The plethora of studies that signify different approaches to measure competitiveness are discussed at length. The future direction of competitiveness research is also suggested.
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