Social Conditions of Innovation in Latecomer Firms and Countries

Purpose– Focusing on the dramatic rise of the mobile telecommunications industry in South Korea as a case to illustrate, this paper seeks to gain a more nuanced understanding of the sources of the innovative performance of the latecomer firm in the high technology sector by shedding light on the specific social conditions under which dynamic interactions between technological, market, organizational, and institutional forces enable and/or constrain the latecomer firm and its effort toward technology-driven innovation. Design/methodology/approach–We build on theoretical insights from William Lazonick and use his integrative model of the social conditions of the innovative firm in our examination of the recent experience of Samsung Electronics’ mobile handset business, and of Korean mobile telecommunications industry. Findings–We have demonstrated how firms embedded in the existing institutional conditions, are also able to generate innovation through a combination of financial commitment, organizational integration and strategic control reflecting their prevailing organizational conditions. Research implications or Originality– This study is distinguished from the extant studies on the evolutionary path of latecomer firms in industrializing economies in that it has attempted to reconceptualize the firm as an outcome of dynamic interactions between itself and institutional environments where it is embedded.