IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/worbus/v34y1999i2p139-156.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Combinative capabilities and organizational learning in latecomer firms: the case of the Korean semiconductor industry

Author

Listed:
  • Mathews, John A.
  • Cho, Dong-Sung

Abstract

The emergence of firms from East Asian countries in advanced high-technology sectors such as semiconductors, is one of the striking features of world business developments over the course of the past decade. Explanations for the successes of such firms are commonly given in terms of transient, external or contingent factors, such as low costs or government subsides or just plain luck. In this paper an alternative account is given, based on resource leverage and organizational learning undertaken by the latecomer firms themselves. The paper develops a model of technological learning by latecomer firms, and then demonstrates its applicability in the case of the creation of a semiconductor industry in Korea. Data is presented to support the proposition that it is indeed single-loop and double-loop organizational learning that underpins these firms' successful entry strategies. This approach sheds light on the strategies to be followed by firms in advanced countries when they seek to enter knowledge-intensive, high-technology sectors.

Suggested Citation

  • Mathews, John A. & Cho, Dong-Sung, 1999. "Combinative capabilities and organizational learning in latecomer firms: the case of the Korean semiconductor industry," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 139-156, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:34:y:1999:i:2:p:139-156
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090951699000139
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1992. "Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(3), pages 383-397, August.
    2. Miller, Alex & Gartner, William B. & Wilson, Robert, 1989. "Entry order, market share, and competitive advantage: A study of their relationships in new corporate ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 197-209, May.
    3. John Mathews, 1996. "High Technology Industrialisation In East Asia," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(2), pages 1-77.
    4. Roger E. Bohn, 1995. "Noise and Learning in Semiconductor Manufacturing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 41(1), pages 31-42, January.
    5. Marvin B. Lieberman, 1987. "The learning curve, diffusion, and competitive strategy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(5), pages 441-452, September.
    6. Mody, Ashoka, 1990. "Institutions and Dynamic Comparative Advantage: The Electronics Industry in South Korea and Taiwan," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 14(3), pages 291-314, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Covin, Jeffrey G. & Garrett, Robert P. & Kuratko, Donald F. & Shepherd, Dean A., 2015. "Value proposition evolution and the performance of internal corporate ventures," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 749-774.
    2. Harsh W. Mishra, 2012. "Book Review: Catherine A. Maritan and Margaret A. Peteraf (Eds), Competitive Strategy, Vols I and II," Vision, , vol. 16(3), pages 222-226, September.
    3. Namgyoo Park & John Mezias & Jinju Lee & Jae-Hoon Han, 2014. "Reverse knowledge diffusion: Competitive dynamics and the knowledge seeking behavior of Korean high-tech firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 355-375, June.
    4. Haefliger, Stefan & Jäger, Peter & von Krogh, Georg, 2010. "Under the radar: Industry entry by user entrepreneurs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 1198-1213, November.
    5. Rodgers, Waymond & Degbey, William Y. & Housel, Thomas J. & Arslan, Ahmad, 2020. "Microfoundations of collaborative networks: The impact of social capital formation and learning on investment risk assessment," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    6. Linda Argote & Ella Miron-Spektor, 2011. "Organizational Learning: From Experience to Knowledge," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1123-1137, October.
    7. Constance E. Helfat & Miguel A. Campo-Rembado, 2016. "Integrative Capabilities, Vertical Integration, and Innovation Over Successive Technology Lifecycles," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 249-264, April.
    8. Raja Roy & MB Sarkar, 2016. "Knowledge, firm boundaries, and innovation: Mitigating the incumbent's curse during radical technological change," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(5), pages 835-854, May.
    9. Scott F. Rockart & Kristin Wilson, 2019. "Learning in Cycles," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(1), pages 70-87, February.
    10. Mahoney, Joseph T., 1995. "The management of resources and the resource of management," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 91-101, June.
    11. Henri A. Schildt & Markku V.J. Maula & Thomas Keil, 2005. "Explorative and Exploitative Learning from External Corporate Ventures," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 29(4), pages 493-515, July.
    12. Soufiane Mezzourh & Walid A Nakara, 2009. "Governance and innovation : A Knowledge-based approach [La gouvernance de l'innovation : une approche par la connaissance]," Post-Print halshs-01955966, HAL.
    13. Vitor Braga, 2004. "Business networking for SMEs as a means to promote regional competitiveness: A Theoretical Framework," ERSA conference papers ersa04p455, European Regional Science Association.
    14. Filippo Carlo Wezel & Gino Cattani & Johannes M. Pennings, 2006. "Competitive Implications of Interfirm Mobility," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(6), pages 691-709, December.
    15. Zhang, Feng & Jiang, Guohua & Cantwell, John A., 2015. "Subsidiary exploration and the innovative performance of large multinational corporations," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 224-234.
    16. Yildiz, H. Emre & Murtic, Adis & Zander, Udo, 2024. "Re-conceptualizing absorptive capacity: The importance of teams as a meso-level context," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    17. Gaviria-Marin, Magaly & Merigó, José M. & Baier-Fuentes, Hugo, 2019. "Knowledge management: A global examination based on bibliometric analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 194-220.
    18. Arora, Ashish, 1999. "Exploring the internalization rationale for international investment: wholly owned subsidiary versus technology licensing in the worldwide chemical industry," DEE - Working Papers. Business Economics. WB 6430, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía de la Empresa.
    19. Natarajan Balasubramanian & Marvin B. Lieberman, 2010. "Industry learning environments and the heterogeneity of firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 390-412, April.
    20. Youngjin Yoo & Richard J. Boland & Kalle Lyytinen, 2006. "From Organization Design to Organization Designing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(2), pages 215-229, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:34:y:1999:i:2:p:139-156. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620401/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.