Industrial Transformation in digital economy: A Case Study on PC and Comsumer Industries

디지털경제와 산업 전환: PC와 가전 산업의 사례 연구

This study aims to investigate the impact of wide use of digital technology, in particular, the Internet, on innovation process and corporate strategy in electronics industry. The introduction of digital technology has changed innovation process, business model and organizational structure of the electronics companies. With the introduction of digital technology, the entire value chain of electronics industry from procurement, sales, and marketing to R&D and manufacturing has been restructured. E-commerce has been a major agenda for e-business. Recently, collaboration among electronics companies through e-marketplace has emerged as an important issue. A web-based e-commerce standard, so called RosettaNet, has been developed for facilitating e-transactions of electronics firms. The development of digital technology has dramatically increased the processing speed and sophisticated the virtual reality technology. As simulation becomes easier and more effective, the uncertainty and risk involved in R&D has decreased significantly. Another positive impact is closer cooperation between R&D and manufacturing functions. Taking advantage of automated and flexible production technology, has a new type of firm, so called, EMS (Electronics Manufacturing Services) emerged, whose strategic focus is on manufacturing only. The EMS can be seen as a kind of innovative organization, that is, a modular organization for production function. Digital technology has made convergence of computer and communication possible at early years but right now the convergence has been accelerated in extensive areas of communication, broadcasting, information appliances, software, contents, and services. Firms' effort for an innovative product and service has been intensified and the competition for a new standard product and service has become severe in electronics industry. Business activities are always realized in a specific organizational context. Accordingly building up innovation-friendly organization has emerged as a critical concern. Due to the striking decrease of transaction cost, a network type of organization has proliferated, and a business function turns into a modular organization. As a whole, digital technology has pushed electronics firms into developing their own business model, which takes consideration of standardization of business platform and their core competency.