• Journal of Technology Innovation
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.97-131
• /
• 2005

This paper has discussed several issues regarding the barriers and opportunities for technological catch-up by the late-comer countries and firms. As one of the barriers to technological catch-up, the paper emphasizes the uncertainty involved with the third stage of learning how to design. The barriers arise because as the forerunner firms refuse to sell or give license to successful catching-up firms who thus have to design the product by themselves. The paper discusses how to overcome this barrier. It also notes that if the crisis of design technology is a push factor for leapfrogging, arrival of new techno-economic paradigm can serve as a pull factor for leapfrogging, serving as a winder of opportunity. The, it emphasized the two risks with leapfrogging, namely the risk of choosing right technology or standards and the risk of creating initial markets, and how to overcome these risks. It discusses how to overcome these risks in leapfrogging, and differentiates diverse forms of knowledge accesses. Then, the paper takes up the issue of whether there can be a single common or several models for catch-up. A common element of catching-up is to enter new markets segments quickly, to manufacture with high levels of engineering excellence, and to be first-to-market by means of the best integrative designs. This observation is supported by the fact that Korea and Taiwan has achieved higher levels of technological capabilities in such sectors as featured by short cycle time of technology. The possibility of two alternative models for catch-up is also discussed in terms of the key difference between Korean and Taiwan, especially in the position toward the source of foreign knowledge and the paths taken toward the final goal of OBM. Taiwan followed the sequential steps of OEM, ODM and OBN, in collaboration or integration with the MNCs. Korean chaebols jumped from OEM directly to OBM even without consolidating design technology.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.103-127
• /
• 2015

This paper investigates the two academic revolutions of the Korean higher education system. Since economic catch-up began in the 1960s, Korea has strongly encouraged the activities of its higher education system to serve industrial development as it has progressed through various developmental stages. At the 'strong regulation' stage, universities focused on the provision of technicians. As the need for higher education grew, the 'massive expansion' stage emerged. Finally, most recently, university research and its direct contribution to the economy have been invigorated by strong governmental support. Possibly, this is due to the fact that the Korean government has strongly controlled not only industry but also academia. As long as other East Asian universities have similar conditions to those of the development of Korean universities, we can generalise this model not only to universities in other East Asian countries, but also to universities in other rapid catch-up countries.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.119-131
• /
• 2015

The rise of K-Pop in the latecomer environment is unusual. There is little research on K-Pop from the catch-up perspective though it would yield some insight into a strategic direction of creative industries in the latecomer environment. Thus, this study aims to compare the firm capability, market development, and product strategy of K-Pop firms with ones of manufacturing firms during the catch-up period. It reveals first that K-Pop firms developed project execution capability to carry out discrete projects effectively by adopting in-house (vertical) system in music production and increasing the size of firms. Second, they pursued global market and utilized the window of opportunities based on a proven music genre. Third, K-Pop firms pursued the incremental innovation in the product development. Since these characteristics have many similarities with the catch-up strategy in the manufacturing sector, Korean catch-up experience could provide valuable insight into the development of creative industries in Korea.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.21-56
• /
• 2016

Despite many previous studies on catch-up, understanding on the effect of product architecture developed by latecomers on the catch-up performance remains limited. On the other hands, in contrast to the semiconductor, ship building, and automotive industry, even if Korean industry and government have invested the development of numerical controllers for machine tools in the past four decades, the industry and government have failed to achieve catch-up. Therefore, we newly examine the effect of product architecture on the catch-up performance of the Korea by implementing comparative research with periods on the evolution of product architecture of Fanuc's numerical controllers, which have achieved the largest market share in the world. We found that Fanuc developed open modular architecture based numerical controllers and provided product with customization of user requirements as well as cost effectiveness. Consequently, Fanuc has sustained market leader position since the mid-1980s. However, despite all the efforts of the industry and government, we found that the Korea failed to develop open modular architecture based numerical controllers and could not achieve significant catch-up performance. Our findings provide important theoretical backgrounds for examining the catch-up performance as well as investigating the reason why latecomers failed to achieve market catch-up even if they accomplished technological catch-up.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.85-113
• /
• 2013

This study analyzes the government-funded research institutions as players which derive inner transition based on technology, policy and market environment changes. In this study, the main case is KRICT(Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology) which tries to make post catch-up innovation in the organization. This institution has attempted to overcome the limitation such as change of technology paradigm and PBS(Project Based System) since 2000's. Responding to the needs of technology convergence and innovation by the paradigm change, KRICT has reformed organization and R&D management system prospectively. And this institution sets the goal like development of natural friendly technologies, small and medium-sized business support, and providing countermeasures of social problems. This case shows possibility of continuous innovation. There are some structural limitation like budget restriction, multiple organization structure, and biased quantitative assessment, but endogenous efforts of government -funded institutions make the new paradigm of post catch-up innovation.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.174-200
• /
• 2002

Technological capabilities of POSCO (Pohang Iron & Steel Co.) have been developed through acquisition, catch-up, and generation stage. In 1970s standardized operation technologies were acquired based on Japan's technological cooperation. The prime route of technological acquisition was overseas training and operation technologies were articulated by mock and real operation. In 1980s POSCO focused to catch-up advanced technologies through in-house R&D activities. Technological informations were broadly accumulated, task force teams were constructed for important technological tasks, and the scope of technological innovation covered nearly all fields. In 1990s POSCO launched long-term projects based on the large-scale investment and challenged the new fronts of steel technologies. Frontier technologies such as smelting reduction and thin slab casting were early commercialized and new technological concepts were emerged. In conclusion, this article suggests some implications on the development of technological capabilities in Korea.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.205-221
• /
• 2009

Since second half of 1990s, Korean "Han-Ryu" focuses international attention, which means Korean cultural industries increase their exports. However, traditional theories of international trade in cultural industries could not explain this phenomenon of increasing cultural goods from developing countries. Using the fact that Becker(1996)'s 'consumption capital' can increase productivity in cultural industries as well as contribute to form 'taste' for new cultural goods. This study suggests the proper conditions for catching-up of developing countries in cultural industries through comparative statistics.

• Journal of Korea Technology Innovation Society
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.700-716
• /
• 2010

This paper examines the development of smelting reduction process in POSCO from 1990 to 2007 with the perspective of post catch-up technological innovation. POSCO paid attention to smelting reduction process as a sort of next-generation iron and steel technology, and implemented COREX (coal ore reduction) by the cooperation with V$\"{o}$oest. In addition to this, POSCO started to develop FINEX (fine iron ore reduction) which can use abundant powder ore, and FINEX was developed through model plant, pilot plant, demo plant, and commercial facility. POSCO came up to innovation leader beyond fast follower by securing almost technologies concerning FINEX. The case of smelting reduction process shows various characteristics including appropriate technological choice, successive scale-up, spiral development system, complementary technological cooperation, long-tenn investment, the existence of top management's leadership, and Korean government's support in early stage. This case can be interpreted as a path-revealing innovation in the middle of technological paradigm change.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.303-330
• /
• 2013

Korea has started new value creation which is the post catch-up innovation system from the catch-up innovation. Post catch-up innovation system is becoming the main R&D issue for Korea and is needed for the new concept of R&D management and planning frame. This study posed questionnaires : how to promote the knowledge creation in technology planning and what the role of organizational learning in the technology planning is. This paper suggests the relationship of success factors of knowledge creation in technology planning which is organized and operated by experts with different background. Based on the prior research on organizational learning, communications and collaborative interactions, four hypotheses that factors of knowledge creation in technology planning have positive relationship with organizational learning are extracted. This study adopts Structural Equation Modeling(SEM) to analyze the relationship between organizational learning and successful technology planning. The approach based on organizational learning and interaction will be useful for constructing the planning framework in the era of post catch-up innovation. This paper, therefore, suggests the possibility of new theoretical development and new research agenda.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.147-175
• /
• 2006

One of the biggest problems of Korean economy is polarization of firms for export and domestic demand and that of conglomerates and SME's achievement. One of the culprits lies weakness of intermediate industry such as machine tool. Since intermediate industry is important path where export performance affects domestic demand and whose actor usually is SMEs with high spill over effect in labor market. Especially, intermediate industry Is vulnerable because of industrial policy biased In backward linkage effect. However if a country fails to develop intermediate industry above some critical point, that country would fall in low-tech equilibrium without growth. In case of benign circle where final goods industry growth leads growth of intermediate industry and again it leads that of final goods industry, it can reach high-tech equilibrium. By contrast, in opposite case where in industrialization latecomer fails to link industries likewise above some critical point that country would fall in low-tech equilibrium without growth. Moreover, for several reasons, machine tool firms of Korea have difficulty in catching up technology above critical point. Firstly. Conglomerate demander neglects their product. Secondly, even after success of development overcoming difficulties they fail to get market share for response of dumping of foreign competitors. And the last one is patent litigation of foreign competitors that incapacitate the technology development. For these, Korean machine tool firms fell in 'middle-income country trap' itself, since they stuck in some extent when they technologically catch up. Consequently, for latecomer country in machine tool industry to leapfrog meaningfully policy support is necessary, Weak intermediate industry does not Induce domestic firms and remained fragile. Therefore, localization, policy should reflect condition of technological catch up more than before, in order to be effective and fruitful. There should be turning point over relationship between conglomerates, major demander of machine tool and SME's, for only with active purchasing of conglomerate Korean machine industry can grow.