Search

Byline: Jae-Yong Choung, Hye-Ran Hwang, Heeseung Yang The Korean IT industry has shown distinct patterns in learning mechanisms and organisational configuration throughout its entry into advanced information technology. Innovation systems in the area of information technology have also evolved along with technological capability, thereby changing the focus of technological strategies and the role of public institutions. It is found that distinctive patterns of learning and diffusion mechanisms in the case of DRAMs, TDX, and CDMA systems represent successful catch-up situations in Korea as presented in this paper. This paper characterises the stylised facts of the Korean innovation system in the IT sector and traces how technology and institutions coevolved throughout the development process. The transition from technology-using to technology-generating is not an automatic process. Cumulative learning in both technology and organisation is a critical factor to upgrade technological capabilities. The main policy implication of the paper is that it is important to design the corresponding organisational and institutional arrangement in accordance with the changing need of technological upgrading.

‘Emerging economies’ like Korea in the 2000s face major challenges as they make a transition from (a) a phase of economic development characterised by ‘catching up’ with the global technological frontier, involving technological ‘imitation’, to (b) a phase of continuing development based on the development of new knowledge for globally leading (post catchup) product and process innovation. That transition is about accumulating new narrowly defined ‘technological’ components of innovation capability and changing the broad organisational and institutional context within which the technological (and economic) process of innovation takes place. During the catch-up phase of technological and economic development in successful emerging economies, that institutional dimension of the innovation system evolves particular characteristics that are well adapted to achieving effectiveness in the catch-up mode of innovation. This paper suggests that (1) these institutional characteristics may be less effective with respect to post catch-up innovation and (2) the institutional context adapted for catch-up innovation may not evolve adequately rapidly into the new forms required for effectiveness in post catch-up innovation. Consequently, these rigidities may become a source of lock-in – so contributing an institution-centred source of ‘failure in system transition’ in the innovation system.

This paper describes and analyses the successful development and commercialisation of Korean TDX telephone switching technologies and CDMA wireless systems, which were initiated as a national R&D project. We introduce the concept of Complex Product System (CoPS) to identify and describe (a) factors for the successful development of CoPS, such as TDX and CDMA, in Korea, (b) features specific to the development of CoPS in Newly Industrialised Economies (NIE) and finally (c) how the characteristics of Korean innovation system interact with the innovation system of telecommunication systems. We suggest that (1) the capabilities for integration of such agents as, public research institute, manufacturers and users play an important role in achieving successful commercialisation, (2) the development of CDMA systems was made possible by technological path dependency. Finally, we discuss the implications for NIEs that are involved in developing CoPS, pointing out the importance of project planning and managerial capability, coevolution of institutions and technology, as well as the interaction between large-scale and local R&D.

This paper focuses on the measurement of scientific and technological performance of Korea and Taiwan in what has been the most successful technology catch-up within developing economies context. The performance measures are based on the publication data for scientific knowledge production and patent data for technological capabilities. In addition, this analysis also reveals on the features of innovation system of these two countries, focusing on the linkages between public and private sector in the scientific and technological knowledge creation. By examining the scientific and technological performance and the changing structure of innovation system, it provides empirical evidence on the positive interaction between scientific and technological activities.