Strategy for transition from follower to leader

Abstract

National Innovation System (NIS) of the existing catching-up countries is facing a new transition. Recent research of catching-up countries discovered that as the technological gap between catching-up countries and developed countries becomes smaller, it gets more difficult for catching-up countries to achieve the follower``s profit, thus their growth rate struggles (Cameron, 2005; Ha Jun-Kyung, 2005). These changes are requiring catching-up countries to transfer themselves from followers to leaders. This refers the technological independency of the catching-up countries gets relatively higher than its technological dependency. Therefore, the transition occurs during the technology innovation process as the catching-up countries obtain their technological competencies to meet the global level. However, there exist many differences among catching-up countries themselves, such as natural · human resources and political structures and even between industries of one nation. These characteristics develop unique strategies for transition from follower to leader in certain industry. Until recently, Newly-Industrializing Countries (Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore) which are creating leading technologies by localizing advanced technologies imported from developed countries, have been emerging in the ICT industry. However, BRICs are narrowing their gaps with NICs by achieving advanced technologies of global corporations by FDI or hostile M&As or utilizing their massive market power, such as trading their domestic market demand with new technologies or establishing national standard with certain technologies. In this paper, we position and classify some catching-up countries which showing evolution possibility from follower to leader using indexes related with technology and market competencies. Then we offer two different types of strategies from each country (Korea and China)``s case of mobile telecommunication industry, in ICT industry. In addition, pr...