• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.97-131
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• 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
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.138-151
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• 2017

This aim of the study is to show the necessity of implementing an industrial innovation strategy with consideration given to characteristics of the industrial technology. The relationship between industrial technological characteristics and innovation performance is analyzed by using an innovation survey as well as a human capital corporate panel (HCCP). The time-lag effect is also examined. Findings of the analysis show that high-tech industries have entered the post catch-up technology innovation stage in the mid-2000s, but low-tech industries still seem to stay in the catch-up stage. In terms of technology policy, the additional technology innovation support policy should focus on enhancing the innovation capability of the middle and low technology industries, since high technology industries are already developing their own innovation capability. It is necessary to strengthen capacity building through technical cooperation with technology consulting, rather than providing technical support through suppliers.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.27-50
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• 2016

Korean manufacturing industry have recently faced the catch-up of China in the mass commodity product, such as automotive, display, and smart phone in terms of market as well as technology. Accordingly, discussion on the importance of achieving catch-up in complex product systems (CoPS) has been increasing as a new innovation engine for the industry. In order to achieve successful catch-up of CoPS, we explored emerging technologies of CoPS, which are featured by the characteristics of radical novelty, relatively fast growth and self-sustaining, through the study of emerging technologies of gas turbine for power generation. We found that emerging technologies of the gas turbine are technologies for combustion nozzle and composition of electrical machine for increasing power efficiency, washing technology for particulate matter, cast and material processing technology for enhancing durability from fatigue, cooling technologies from extremely high temperature, interconnection operation technology between renewable energy and the gas turbine for flexibility in power generation, and big data technology for remote monitoring and diagnosis of the gas turbine. We also found that those emerging technologies resulted in technological progress of the gas turbine by converging with other conventional technologies in the gas turbine. It indicates that emerging technologies in CoPS can be appeared on various technological knowledge fields and have complementary relationship with conventional technologies for technology progress of CoPS. It also implies that latecomers need to pursue integrated learning that includes emerging technologies as well as conventional technologies rather than independent learning related to emerging technologies for successful catch-up of CoPS. Our findings provide an important initial theoretical ground for investigating the emerging technologies and their characteristics in CoPS as well as recognizing knowledge management strategy for successful catch-up of latecomers. Our findings also contribute to the policy development of the CoPS from the perspective of innovation strategy and knowledge management.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.267-276
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• 2023

R&D strategies of companies with low and high technological levels are discussed based on the concept of technology convergence and divergence. However, empirically detecting enterprise technology convergence in the distribution of enterprise technology (total productivity increase) over time and identifying key change factors are challenging. This study used a novel statistical indicator that captures the internal technology distribution change with a single number to clearly measure the technology distribution peak as a change in critical bandwidth for enterprise technology convergence and presented it as evidence of each technology convergence or divergence. Furthermore, this study applied the quantitative technology convergence identification method. Technology convergence appeared from the separation of total corporate productivity distribution of 69 IT companies in Korea in 2019-2020 rather than in 2015-2016. Results indicated that when the total technological level was separated from the technology leading and technology catch-up, IT companies were found to be pursuing R&D strategies for technology catch-up.

• Proceedings of the Technology Innovation Conference
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• 2004.02a
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• pp.288-315
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• 2004

This paper has examined the leapfrogging thesis with the case of catch-up in digital TV by the Korean firms. Despite the disadvantages implied by the technological regime of digital TV and the risks facing early entrants in trajectory choice and initial market formation, the Korean firms had achieved a 'path-creating catch-up' in the sense they chose a different path from the Japanese forerunning firms. As they have been closely watching the technological trends and the standard setting process, there was less risk of choosing the right or wrong technological trajectory. Also, despite the lack of sufficient capability and core knowledge base, the Korean firms had some complementary asset, such as the experience of producing analogue TV, and were able to develop the prototype digital TV and the ASIC chips, given the accesses to the foreign knowledge via overseas R&D posts and acquisition of a foreign company. To secure the initial market size, the Korean targeted the US market from the beginning, and their sources for competitive advantages were the speedy setting up the production system for mass production of products at the initial stage. The initial failure of the Japanese firms and the success of the Korean firms do suggest that the period of paradigm shift, like this toward digital technology, can serve as a window of opportunity for late-comers while penalizing the forerunner.

• Proceedings of the Korea Technology Innovation Society Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.227-245
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• 2000

Korean firms have attempted to catch up in the aircraft industry during last quarter century. Korean firms have built up their capabilities by moving from parts manufacturing through subassembly to system integration. The number of projects carried out and the intensity of technological effort undertaken by firms strongly influences market position and firm performance. However, successful catching up is not simply dependent on capability building within the firm. The national environment (Porter, 1990) in which firms are located plays a pivotal role. The Korean government has been effective in creating a favorable environ-ment in many areas, but has not been able to replicate this success in the aircraft industry. Opportunities for learning in the aircraft industry have been hampered by the small size of the Korean civilian aircraft market and the sophisticated requirements of military systems. A policy of domestic rivalry in airframe manufacture has created too many firms for such a small market. The ability of Korean firms to catch up in the aircraft industry depends on both the internal capabilities of firms as well as appropriate government policies and the involve- ment of government research institutions and universities over an extended period of time. There have been many studies about the catching up of developing countries in mass production (such as automobile, consumer electronics, and recently DRAM), but few in complex systems, such as aircraft.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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• v.21 no.4_spc
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• pp.485-499
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• 2014

Sharing Economy is the modern main item with ICT Development. Of course sharing economic item is the old and long run mainstream, but by the ICT technological development sharing economy is the fostering and affluent factors in the world economic growth. Though, in Korea, till now sharing economy is minimal, that will growth sharply. We can track various business models of sharing economy. Sharing economy is to buy use right not ownership. With the sharing economic business model wee can make also financial sharing model. In finance model we can divide two kind models. First, we can trace small size lending model with p2p type. And second, we can make financial information transaction model. But till now sharing economic system is not activated, because of many reasons. To activate, first we have to set law and various standards, and also government actively support many sharing economy firms and institutions. To catch up developed countries in the field of sharing economy we have to make aggressive and flexible rules and standards.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.247-263
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• 2005

Prior research in R8ED innovation in Korea has been centered around the 'three-stage development model,' which hypothesizes that the Korean innovation process goes from the introduction (of foreign technology) stage, through assimilation stage to the final modification stage. As Korean economy shifts from traditional industry-led development to innovation-centric development, such an approach loses sight of the whole picture. The current study argues that a new framework is required for adequate analysis on newly arising innovative patterns in Korea, emphasizing source technology development and technology leader strategy. For this purpose, we propose the 'Jigsaw Puzzle Model' of technology development, which is then verified by an in-depth analysis on the innovation processes of 3 representative IT products of Korea, DRAM, TH LCD, and CDMA. The model suggests that Korean innovation model is a dynamic, efficient amalgamation of foreign-acquired and dependent technologies, based on internally accumulated technological resources. The model explains better how Korean firms are achieving a rapid catch-up of technological gaps with advanced nations and are able to transfer from the technology follower to the leader position.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.1-27
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• 2009

This study aims at reviewing and assessing the characteristics of the Korean Science, Technology and Innovation(STI) policy of the 2000s. Starting from the 2000s, Korea's STI policy began to show a new look as there was a clear voice calling for the new strategy creating a new technological development path and the scope of the policy was expanded to the social and quality of life issues. "Creation" and "integration" are becoming the key words of the STI policy of Korea. However, these new trends are not easy to be diffused or institutionalized because still there is the legacy of the old practice of the "catch-up" period, which focused on economic development as well as the imitation of advanced technologies. As result, the current period of the 2000s shows characteristics of a transitional period where the past and the future coexist.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.149-177
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• 2009

Today, the phase of modem war is very different from past war. That is, the winning of war depends on the ability to obtain information and high technology. The purposes of this research are to propose an effective R&D governance model in national defense sector and to present R&D strategy for obtaining core national defense technology. As a part of collaborative innovation, the strategy to exchange R&D results actively between the defense sector and the private sector will be discussed. The main contribution of this research is dearly defining the concept of R&D governance in national defense sector and applying it to an actual case. The national defense R&D governance model proposed in this paper is based on the characteristics of national defense R&D which are different from other industries. The analysis of business success factors for national defense R&D through the T-50 case study is presented in detail. The T-50 case study reveals the importance of strategic intent, core technology knowledge base, organizational structure, and project management.