National Competitiveness and Economic Transformation in Saudi Arabia: A Conceptual Analysis Using Porter’s Diamond Model

National competitiveness has become a central policy concern for resource-dependent economies pursuing structural transformation. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 represents a comprehensive national strategy aimed at diversifying the economy, upgrading productivity, and strengthening institutional capacity. Despite extensive discussion of individual reforms, there remains a lack of integrated, theory-guided analysis that explains how these changes interact systemically at the national level. This study addresses this gap by applying Porter’s Diamond Model as a conceptual descriptive analytical framework to examine Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation. The analysis treats the Diamond determinants—factor conditions, demand conditions, related and supporting industries, and firm strategy, structure, and rivalry—as an interconnected system shaped by government intervention. Drawing on secondary data from official policy documents, international competitiveness indicators, (including the Global Innovation Index, IMD World Competitiveness Rankings, Logistics Performance Index, and Worldwide Governance Indicators), and institutional reports, the study maps key reform dynamics onto each determinant and examines their cross-determinant interactions and feedback loops. The findings suggest that Saudi Arabia has made substantial progress in upgrading factor conditions and generating sophisticated domestic demand, while systemic challenges remain in firm level rivalry and innovation ecosystem depth. The study highlights that sustainable national competitiveness depends on coordinated upgrading across all determinants rather than isolated reforms. By reframing Porter’s Diamond as a dynamic, systems-oriented analytical tool, this paper contributes to the literature on national competitiveness in transformation economies and provides policy relevant insights for advancing productivity driven growth under Vision 2030.