SYSTEMS OF INNOVATION AND COMPETITIVENESS OF FIRMS

In the last decades, national economies have undergone through a process of structural change that has challenged the orthodox concept of competitiveness. In particular, it is necessary an approach that takes into account the importance of the learning processes of the firms and that put emphasis on the processes of change and innovation, from a a dynamic point of view. In this sense, the paper presents a theoretical alternative of the building competitive advantages' processes and the competitiveness of nations: the view of the modern evolutionary and institutional economics. Thus, we present the salient features of the evolutionary theory of the firm and the approach of national innovation system, which enables to adopt a systemic approach to investigate the phenomenon of competitiveness and economic performance of nations.