An analysis of sources of competitiveness and performance of Chinese manufacturers

An exploratory model of competence and performance is presented and tested in the study. Competence in marketing, product innovation, manufacturing, and human resource development across a list of 42 items have been analyzed. Marketing competence was ranked high by Chinese managers. Elements contributed to manufacturing competence regarding process reengineering have not been emphasized as much by Chinese managers. Human resource competence, on the other hand, has been found to be significantly correlated with performance. The results clearly show a trend moving from the state‐planned economy to the market economy.