Abstract EN:

The research aims at the determination of the factors which account for the perception of the firm’s competitiveness at the Euro-international level, and at seeing whether the up-grading strategy allows the industrial firm to become competitive. In a first part, entitled “The competitiveness process : a multidimensional analysis”, we have tried to show theoretically and then empirically that the concept of competitiveness can be bound to the firm and/or to the product, both at the national and international levels. The theoretical syntheses, were they economic or organisational, have shown a multidimensional and multifactor aspect to competitiveness. In the second part, entitled “up-grading strategy : a new development orientation for the Tunisian small and middle industries (PMI)”, we try to see whether the up-grading strategy in order to reach the competitiveness goal, follows a strategic process which allows the sustained development of the firm. We have built all our reasoning around the indications of the basic theoretical models. We have integrate within each part (I and II) the empirical validation of each hypothesis of the model that we have devised in order to explain competitiveness and the up-grading strategy according to an approach based on the perception of the Tunisian leaders. The proposed survey concerned seventy-six small and middle Tunisian industrial firms. According to the Tunisian officials, competitiveness was appreciated through the competitiveness of the nation, of the firm and of the product and the efficiency of “up-grading” national programme was conditioned by the success of the carrying out of the whole up-grading procedure.