The Exploration of New Business Areas in the Age of Economic Transformation : a Case of Korean 'Hidden Champions' (Small and Medium Niche Enterprises

경제구조 전환기에서 새로운 비즈니스 영역의 창출 : 강소기업의 성공함정과 신시장 개척

This study examines the characteristics of 24 Korean hidden champions such as key success factors, core competences, strategic problems, and desirable future directions. The study categorized them into 8 types with Danny Miller's four trajectories and top manager's decision making style(rationality and passion). Danny Miller argued in his book, Icarus paradox, that outstanding firms will extend their orientations until they reach dangerous extremes and their momentum will result in common trajectories of decline. He suggested four very common success types: Craftsmen, Builders, Pioneers, Salesmen. He also suggested common trajectories of decline:Focusing(from Craftsmen to Tinkers), Venturing(from Builders to Imperialists), Inventing(from Pioneers to Escapists), Decoupling(from Salesmen to Drifts). In Korea, successful startups appear to possess three kinds of drive: Technology-drive, Vision-drive, Market-drive. Successful technology-driven firms tend to grow as craftsmen or pioneers. Successful vision-driven and market-driven ones tend to grow as builders and salesmen respectively. Korean top managers or founders seem to have two kinds of decision making style: Passion-based and Rationality-bases. Passion-based(passionate) entrepreneurs are biased towards action or proactiveness in competing and getting things done. Rationality- based ones tend to emphasis the effort devoted to scanning and analysing information to better understand a company's threats, opportunities and options. Consequently this study suggested 4*2 types of Korean hidden champions: (1) passionate craftsmen, (2) rational craftsmen, (3) passionate builders, (4) rational builders, (5) passionate pioneers, (6) rational pioneers, (7) passionate salesmen, (8) rational salesmen. These 8 type firms showed different success stories and appeared to possess different trajectories of decline. These hidden champions have acquired competitive advantage within domestic or globally niche markets in spite of the weak market power and lack of internal resources. They have maintained their sustainable competitiveness by utilizing three types of growth strategy; (1) penetrating into the global market, (2) exploring new service market, (3) occupying the domestic market. According to the types of growth strategy, these firms showed different financial outcomes and possessed different issues for maintaining their competitiveness. This study found that Korean hidden champions were facing serious challenges from the transforming economic structure these days and possessed the decline potential from their success momentum or self-complacence. It argues that they need to take a new growth engine not to decline in the turbulent environment. It also discusses how firms overcome the economic crisis and find a new business area in promising industries for the future. It summarized the recent policy of Korean government called as "Green Growth" and discussed how small firms utilize such benefits and supports from the government. Other implications for firm strategies and governmental policies were discussed.

본 연구는 우리나라 대표적인 강소기업들을 대상으로 심층적 사례조사를 실시하여 새로운 비즈니스 영역의 창출에 필요한 정책적 과제를 도출하고자 했다. 이를 통해 경제 구조적전환기에 금융위기가 가중된 경영환경 속에서 과연 중소기업들이 어떻게 신시장을 개척하고 신성장동력을 지속적으로 유지할 수 있는지에 관해 답변해보고자 했다. 24개 강소기업들에 관한 심층적 전략분석을 토대로 이들의 성공유형과 잠재된 실패요인(성공함정)들을 조사했으며, 그 결과 한국 강소기업의 8가지 유형을 제시했다. 또한 이들의 생존비결과 그에 따른 문제점을 살펴봄으로써 향후 지속적인 경쟁력 유지를 위해 고려해야 할 당면과제들을 도출했다. 이러한 조사결과들을 토대로 우리나라 강소기업들이 신성장동력을 지속적으로 확보하기 위한 전략대안과 정책적 지원방안에 관해서 논의하였다. 이와 함께 '저탄소 녹색성장'의 국가비전에 대해서도 중소기업을 위한 기회창출이라는 차원에서 논의하였다.