Rui Vinhas da Silva has degrees in Business Management and Economics from York University in Toronto, Canada, an MBA from Aston Business School and a PhD and Post-Doctorate from Manchester Business School. Before joining ISCTE as an Associate Professor he was a Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor at Manchester Business School where he remained for 17 years.Throughout this period he regularly taught in every MBA and Doctoral programme at MBS. Over the years he also held several visiting positions, most notably at the University of São Paulo. Vinhas da Silva has been actively involved in senior executive training programmes and corporate consultancy, with regular appointments in blue chip companies, including PWC in the USA, senior British military personnel, senior executives from countries of the former Soviet Union and government officials in Malaysia among others. Vinhas da Silva has research interests in the areas of national competitiveness and economics, marketing, country branding, corporate reputation and country of origin effects, having published books and journal articles on these topics.
’In his new book Competitiveness in the Real Economy, Rui Vinhas da Silva provides a rounded, multi-disciplinary perspective linking national competitiveness, economics and management. His emphasis is on value aggregation as a key driver of national competitiveness across sectors in the real economy. The author challenges other approaches that underplay the role and responsibility of entrepreneurs in aggregating value and stigmatize labour. He then explores the links between productivity and national competitiveness, acknowledging that the nature and dynamics of contemporary global competition requires a sharper focus on value aggregation. The role of exports and the attraction of foreign direct investment inflows in building national GDP are examined, as well as the notion that culture, being cosmopolitan and understanding aspirational and discriminatory consumers with high disposable income are key drivers of success in the global economy. The author highlights the limitations of current economics in responding to contemporary challenges, and acknowledges that the complexity of economic development problems comes from diversity and the heterogeneity of global actors. The book concludes by addressing the implications of these issues in terms of how the management skills needed for competitive advantage might be best developed.’ Joseph F. Hair, Jr, Founder & Senior Scholar, DBA Program, Kennesaw State University USA