Stanford, CA | Nashville, TN. The 2025 Microeconomics of Competitiveness (MOC) Global Conference convened at Stanford University on December 10–13 bringing together leading scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from around the world to advance research, teaching, and action on economic competitiveness and inclusive growth.

The Microeconomics of Competitiveness (MOC) program is a global academic and practitioner network dedicated to improving prosperity through place-based economic strategy, industry cluster development, and evidence-based competitiveness policy. Today, the MOC Network includes over 140 member universities around the world, engages 700 faculty, over 55,000 students, and supports applied research and field projects that translate rigorous economic frameworks into real-world impact.

MOC was originally created by Professor Michael E. Porter at the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School, and it continues to build on his foundational research on competitive advantage, clusters, and shared value. The MOC program operates internationally as a program of Global Action Platform, which serves as the administrative and fiscal manager of the network and its global activities.

A Global Convening Focused on Innovation, Clusters, and Impact

Hosted in collaboration with Stanford University and the Stanford US-Asia Technology Management Center, the 2025 conference featured three days of Silicon Valley site visits, plenary sessions, research presentations, and regional working groups focused on innovation-driven competitiveness in a rapidly changing global economy.

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Agenda

Highlights of the program included:

• Faculty and network site visits to leading innovation institutions in Silicon Valley
• Plenary sessions on artificial intelligence, innovation ecosystems, antitrust, and cluster strategy
• Peer-reviewed research sessions and global impact project presentations
• Regional chapter meetings spanning Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America

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2025 Keynote Speakers

The conference program featured keynote addresses and sessions by internationally recognized leaders in innovation, competitiveness, and economic policy, including:

• Richard Dasher, Director, Stanford US-Asia Technology Management Center
  Lessons from Silicon Valley on Innovation and Competitiveness
• Mercedes Delgado, Copenhagen Business School; Research Affiliate, MIT
  Inclusive Innovation, Industry Clusters, and Competitiveness: The Case of Artificial Intelligence
• Willis Emmons, Harvard Business School
  The Case Method
• Riitta Katila, Stanford Technology Ventures Program
  Antitrust and Competition
• Sean Randolph, Senior Director, Bay Area Council Economic Institute
  Innovation Economy in California and Its Connection to the Global Economy
• Anthony Chow, San José State University
  From Memory to Metaverse: XR as a New Frontier for Digital Humanities

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Advancing the MOC Mission

The 2025 Stanford global conference underscores the commitment of the Network and GAP to stewarding microeconomic competitiveness as a global public-good platform—one that connects rigorous academic research with applied leadership, policy design, and regional economic transformation.

As administrative and fiscal manager, Global Action Platform ensures the continuity, corporate and fiscal integrity, and ongoing impacts of the MOC program to support innovation in curriculum, research collaboration, and real-world impact aligned with Professor Porter’s original vision.

Additional information about the conference agenda, participating institutions, and the global MOC Network is available at www.mocnetwork.org.

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