APEC Member Economies have devoted themselves to achieving sustainable economic development in the region by reconciling heterogeneity in economic and cultural aspects. However, comprehensive studies encompassing both economic and cultural perspectives that suggest a way of mutually beneficial development are difficult to find. For a more accurate analysis on cooperation among APEC Member Economies, we, therefore, need a more comprehensive framework that deals important variables in various areas, including the cultural factors.

For this purpose, this article studies the relationship and cooperation among APEC Member Economies through the following three stages. In the first stage, national competitiveness of Member Economies will be measured with a comprehensive model developed through exhaustive literature reviews on national competitiveness in both economic and cultural perspectives. In the second stage, the national competitiveness structures of Member Economies are analyzed by classifying them into four country groups depending on their national competitiveness structures. In the final stage, a mutually beneficial way of cooperation among Member Economies will be suggested with an in-depth consideration of the characteristics of each country group.

The results of the empirical analyses over the relationship among the 19 Member Economies in the economic and cultural perspectives suggest the way of both inter-group cooperation and intra-group cooperation, based on the complementarity of the national competitiveness structure and the complexity of factors comprising national competitiveness. Inter-group cooperation, which is based on the complementarity of the national competitiveness structure, refers to a cooperative relationship among economies in different country groups. Economies have competitive relationships with economies in the same country group, while the portion of upstream and downstream cooperation increases when compared with economies in other country groups. Therefore, Member Economies can enjoy cooperative relationships with economies outside their own country groups.

On the other hands, intra-group cooperation, which lays it basis on the complexity of the factors comprising national competitiveness, means the cooperative relationship among the economies within the same country group. Although competition prevails in the majority of the factors among the economies in the same country group, there is room for cooperation among the other factors that are not in a competitive relationship. This is because countries can also benefit from similarities. Together with the similarity in many factors, the dissimilarity in other factors enables countries to reap further competitiveness.

Cooperation among APEC Member Economies, therefore, can be fostered with the integration of inter-group cooperation and intra-group cooperation with consideration of both economic and cultural factors comprising national competitiveness. The complementarity of the national competitiveness structure and the complexity of factors comprising national competitiveness should be two corner stones for the establishment and implementation of effective policies with which all APEC Member Economies can enjoy the benefits of cooperation. When considering a way to spur cooperation among Member Economies, we can draw several implications from this study. Firstly, macro level policies to enhance the cooperation among the country groups analyzed in this paper should appropriately be derived with a full consideration of the unique characteristics of the economies in each group. Secondly, micro level policies to increase the cooperation among Member Economies within the same country group should be more carefully considered by taking into account both the similarity and dissimilarity of the sub-variables of competitiveness. Thirdly, each Member Economy should take an appropriate strategic position between macro and micro policies in accordance with its unique status of competitiveness structure. Lastly, in the process of establishing and implementing policies, balanced attention must be paid to the factors comprising national competitiveness from both economic and cultural perspectives.

Based on these implications, more detailed suggestions can be derived as follows. Firstly, the results of this study can be employed as a rationale for the feasibility of cooperation among APEC Member Economies and the raison d'être of APEC. Secondly, governments should implement more active and favorable policies to enhance both inbound and outbound FDI. Thirdly, each Member Economy should establish its unique strategy to enhance national competitiveness through cooperation with other Member Economies. Lastly, some Korea-specific implications can also be derived.