Some of these nations and companies have achieved competitive edge because the improvements in their ICT had allowed them to leverage the benefits of network economies, knowledge management and the advantages of rapid, frictionless, information flow. They have optimized the full spectrum of their capabilities and have from it, realized significant gains in sharing information, products, ideas, and intellectual capital.
This all points to a need for national economic structures to become more conducive to growth and competitiveness.  The country-specific recommendations, proposed annually by the European Commission and endorsed by the European Council, tend to include, for example, dedicated reform recommendations for product, labour and financial markets in EU Member States.