This book is a result of an extensive research project, benchmarking the maritime industries in Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and the UK. The ultimate interest of the project is the foundation for long-term competitiveness and growth of the maritime industries. The research project has been carried out by a team of researchers at the Centre for Value Creation at the Norwegian School of Management-BI, and has been aimed at answering the following questions: Which countries are the most attractive locations for maritime business today? For what kind of firms are the locations attractive? What are the locations' advantages? In which countries do we find the most sophisticated companies? What kinds of companies are the most international, innovative and knowledge intensive, and in which countries do we find these companies? What are the future prospects of the national maritime industries? Where do expect to find the most competitive maritime industry? For what kind of firms will the countries be an attractive host in the future? What will be the location pattern of European maritime industries? The book presents a framework for explaining future performance of national industries and answers the above questions by benchmarking the national industries on a range of topics and variables covering past performance, company sophistication, country attractiveness, public policy and cluster dynamics. The book presents important challenges and opportunities for the maritime industries, and should be of high relevance to practitioners, governmental agencies as well as academia.
