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Productivity is one of the best indicators of countries’ long-term prosperity. World Economic Forum (2018a) defines competitiveness as “the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine a country’s level of productivity. The level of productivity, in turn, sets the level of sustainable prosperity that the economy can achieve”.

Overall, productivity has stagnated over the past three decades in many Western countries, and the EU is not left out (GDP per capita productivity), as it is observed in Figure 7. The case of Spain is particularly worrying as no growing developments are seen in recent years as a result of recurrent crises in institutions and the non-implementation of effective policies.

Figure 7. GDP per hour worked

Source: Own elaboration through OECD Data (2020), https://data.oecd.org/

Part of the effect of the overall stagnation in productivity may argue, Harris, Kimson and Schwedel (2018) in its report published by Bain & Company “Labor 2030: The Collision of Demographics, Automation and Inequality”, to employment growth in lower-productivity sectors, with workers from industries with higher productivity (from automotive to services, for example). Increasing automation is expected to lead to improved productivity, which, depending on the sectors, will be more or less high. Harris, Kimson and Schwedel (2018) forecast that, by 2030, productivity improvements from automation will reach up to 55%, for example, in manufacturing tasks. Although the impact would be only 10% on the education services sector (see Figure 8). Nor can we ignore, that when analyzing these productivity levels, a key factor is the change in the European workforce.

Figure 8. Productivity growth as a result of automation, 2015 vs. 2030

Source: Harris, K., A. Kimson y A. Schwedel (2018), “Labor 2030: The Collision of Demographics, Automation and Inequality”, Bain & Company, p. 21.

Additionally, spending more hours does not translate directly into productivity. So what prevents the increase in the productivity of European workers? According to ADP’s report “The workforce in Europe” (2018) mismanagement is identified as the biggest obstacle to productivity. The worrying thing is that the problem is on the rise. Nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents in 2019 believe that mismanagement is the one that results in the greatest loss of productivity, compared to 19% of the 2018 report. This places it at the forefront of other problems, such as systems and inefficient processes (18%) and understaffing (18%). A problem that in an integrated Europe becomes a problem for all, when it comes to taking stock in global terms.

The raising of formal retirement ages has faced much contestation and significant political backlash, driving some governments to reconsider their policies. It is clear that ensuring that people are able and willing to work longer requires accompanying measures: healthy workplaces and working conditions; promoting the employability of workers throughout their working lives; incentives for workers to continue working at an older age (including tax incentives); encouraging employers to retain and hire older workers, including tackling age-based discrimination.

It equally involves addressing the challenge that many faces of being ‘too young’ to retire but ‘too old’ to train or find a new job. This requires incentives for employers and worker representatives to retain and hire older workers, including reviewing their practices in setting pay to reflect productivity and competencies, not age, and sharing good practices in managing an age-diverse workforce. Increasing access to training so that they can reskill and upskill, and adapting the workplace to facilitate older workers to continue working through technological advances in ergonomics, exoskeletons, and health at work are all factors at play. The challenge is how to overcome labor shortages associated with aging populations and create new job opportunities?

This new world of work comes highlighted by self-employment in a growth way. A self-employment that is longer be in competition at an international environment.

There is no magic formula for the success of internationalization from the entrepreneur’s point of view. But, an adequate combination of good product, market knowledge, financial muscle or brand image and reputation - among other things - can contribute to that. However, if we do not add the human factor, the process will be doomed to failure. Identifying and training the best talent has now become the cornerstone of this process.

Talent is important but planning and working with a long-term perspective are the drivers of success in the internationalization of any company. It is therefore necessary to update knowledge and a permanent attitude of adaptation to change that should be present in any entrepreneur exposed to international markets.

The change cannot be foreseen, but it can be managed. And the more knowledge tools you have, the better. International business requires a wide variety of knowledge, especially in complex environments: logistics, finance, marketing, etc... and, two are key: the regulatory framework and international negotiation without forgetting the digital world that very directly and disruptively affect talent management in organizations.

In any economy, from the most traditional to technological, it is necessary to rely on the knowledge of individuals. Human capital is essential to increase productivity, business size, and thus boost a country’s economic growth. In this way, entrepreneurial ecosystems are a basic engine with a significant impact on the economies of different countries. Entrepreneurship is based on innovation, but not innovation-based only on technological but organizational and human aspects that provide new approaches and solutions.

These ecosystems are those that are providing quality employment, and it promotes the recruitment of international talent and foreign capital. That is why it is important when uncertainty is high and crises occur as in the case of Spain, betting on entrepreneurship as a specific lever of action to provide a more innovative, dynamic, and competitive economy.