Latecomer firms' combination of strategies in a specialized suppliers sector: A comparative case study of the Korean plastic injection molding machine industry

Kiho Kwak, Wonjoon Kim () and Karpsoo Kim

Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2018, vol. 133, issue C, 190-205

Abstract: How do latecomer firms combine strategies to successfully grow in a specialized suppliers sector? We examine how latecomer firms combine technology and market development strategies to grow in the sector. Through an in-depth comparative case study, we found that, depending on the modularity of the technology that latecomer firms select, firms show distinctive combinations of technology and market development strategies that led to the successful growth in the sector. More specifically, the combinations spring from the selection of product architecture, followed by product development procedure, and knowledge acquisition that constitute technology development strategy and customer base management as a key activity of market development strategy. Based on the results, we introduce an analytical framework to explain two optimal combinations of technology and market development strategies corresponding to the selection of product architecture. This article provides new empirical evidence and an analytical framework for explaining an importance of optimal combinations of strategies in a latecomer firm's success.

Keywords: Technology development strategy; Market development strategy; Combination of strategies; Latecomer firms; Specialized suppliers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004016251730522X
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:133:y:2018:i:c:p:190-205

DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2018.04.004

Access Statistics for this article

Technological Forecasting and Social Change is currently edited by Fred Phillips

More articles in Technological Forecasting and Social Change from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().