The study aims to assess the state of research and practical application of the concept of competitiveness in the world, as well as the positioning of Romania as a whole, and in particular of Oltenia as a development region, in the context of developments in this important aspect of contemporary life. On this basis and benefiting from the undeniable advantage of interdisciplinary research offered by the Group's almost totally comprehensive heterogeneous expertise, the study puts forward several theoretical and practical initiatives, such as a rigorous operational definition of the concept of competitiveness, the qualification of the development region as a potential complex adaptive system, a simplified formula for calculating competitiveness at the enterprise/company level, as well as the re-establishment of the Romanian Marketing Association (AROMAR) and the Oltenia Businessmen's Club Atlantis/Minerva, as related practical actions.