The social organization of careers as a source of sustained competitive advantage: The case of Singapore

Couched in a resource-based model of competitive advantage and using Singapore as a case study, this paper demonstrates how the Singapore government has actively influenced the development, allocation and utilization of its human resources to create and sustain competitive advantage in strategically selected industrial clusters. When the concept of career is conceptualized as a repository of skills, this paper suggests, career choice could be influenced by societal self-interest as much as by individual self-interest. Societal self-interest as manifested in the social organization of careers or skills possessed by a nation's work-force is suggested as a critical factor in a nation's competitiveness in selected industrial clusters. The implications of linking career to a nation's competitiveness for careers research are discussed.