Innovativeness of Turkish automobile industry: an application of Porter’s national competitiveness model

This paper aims to investigate the innovativeness of passenger car segment in automobile industry which is emphasized as one of the leading manufacturing sectors in Turkey. The corporations in the industry, foreign trade activities (import and export rates) and product & sales values of the five multinational passenger car manufacturing firms will be evaluated. The innovativeness of the industry, evidence of clustering and exchange of ideas will be clarified and whether there is an existence of regional innovation networks in automobile industry or not will be explored. It also includes the investigations of how the micro (clusters, learning regions) and macro (state) elements interact and support the industry to enhance regional development. Lastly, Porter’s National Competitiveness Model is applied to automobile industry in Turkey. The methodology of the research is using secondary data (statistics from Automotive Industry Association, company reports and internet resources) and face to face interview with the company executives, key informants and academicians.