Evaluating Experts’ Perceptions on Regional Competitiveness Based on the Ten Key Factors of Assessment
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe manuscript provides valuable information about the regional competitiveness and ten Key Factors who contribute to sustained growth and prosperity.
The authors may consider the following suggestions:
- to explain in more detail what "regional competitiveness" means and why it is important in the context of globalization and rapid technological progress;
- to explain the connection between the factors and how the interaction between them contributes to the general competitiveness of the region;
- to present the structure of the paper in the introduction;
- to explain how the experts were selected to emphasize the relevance and representativeness of the sample;
- it is necessary to better highlight how the study contributes to improving the results of previous research;
- it would also be beneficial to clearly present the novelty of the study in the Conclusions section and a more detailed comparison with the results of previous studies to clearly identify which aspects or results are new.
Author Response
Dear respective Reviewer,
We wanted to express our sincere gratitude for taking the time to review our article.
Your feedback and constructive comments were incredibly valuable to us. They have helped us improve the quality and clarity of our work significantly.
We truly appreciate your expertise and thoughtful analysis, which have contributed immensely to refining our research.
Your contributions are invaluable to the academic community, and we are thankful for your efforts in helping us elevate our article.
Thank you once again for your time and dedication to reviewing our work.
We look forward to any future opportunities for collaboration or feedback.
Best regards,
The Authors
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI appreciate the authors' efforts to write the paper and conduct the research, dealing with issues related to the ten determinants contributing to sustained growth. The endeavour continues the previous work Kouskoura, A.; Kalliontzi, E.; Skalkos, D.; Bakouros, I. Assessing the Key Factors Measuring Regional Competitiveness. 483 Sustainability 2024, 16, 2574, doi:10.3390/su16062574.
My major concern is that the context setting for regional competitiveness is not clear. To enhance regional competitiveness, the 10 determinants play a different role considering the specific needs of various stages of development, meaning that the situation is different for a developed country compared to the situation of a less developed country.
In the previous work that the present research is considering, the context setting of less developed regions is announced “The study sets the basis for further research on the multi-interconnection of these factors. In the next phase, comprehensive questionnaires will provide insights from individuals and organizations WITHIN LESS DEVELOPED REGIONS, offering a nuanced view of these dynamics.” If the experts were given the context of a less developed region then the study is clear. Maybe there was an introduction/preamble prior to answering the questionnaire and the respondents were offered these context settings before. Or maybe the sustainability approach was recommended in which the respondents were invited to consider their answers, still, the importance of the 10 key determinants for regional competitiveness might differ between developed and less developed countries, and the items are not specific. The complexity is different in a less developed country compared to a developed one.
Another minor aspect is that the aim of the study should be introduced before the literature review and the structure of the paper needs to be announced at the end of the introduction. Consider addressing and explaining the paper line at the end of the introduction and announcing that the sustainability aspects are integrated into these key determinants in the literature review.
It is essential to clarify the context for which the study offers a nuanced view of the 10 determinants dynamics.
Hope my comments are helpful to improve the quality of the manuscript. All the best!
Author Response
Dear respective Reviewer,
We wanted to express our sincere gratitude for taking the time to review our article.
Your feedback and constructive comments were incredibly valuable to us. They have helped us improve the quality and clarity of our work significantly.
We truly appreciate your expertise and thoughtful analysis, which have contributed immensely to refining our research.
Your contributions are invaluable to the academic community, and we are thankful for your efforts in helping us elevate our article.
Thank you once again for your time and dedication to reviewing our work.
We look forward to any future opportunities for collaboration or feedback.
Best regards,
The Authors
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsPlease see attached.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Dear respective Reviewer,
We wanted to express our sincere gratitude for taking the time to review our article.
Your feedback and constructive comments were incredibly valuable to us. They have helped us improve the quality and clarity of our work significantly.
We truly appreciate your expertise and thoughtful analysis, which have contributed immensely to refining our research.
Your contributions are invaluable to the academic community, and we are thankful for your efforts in helping us elevate our article.
Thank you once again for your time and dedication to reviewing our work.
We look forward to any future opportunities for collaboration or feedback.
Best regards,
The Authors
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe author(s) have done a thorough job of responding to the review comments and explaining the revisions.
Good work.
