No abstract

No abstract

This paper has examined the leapfrogging thesis with the case of catch-up in digital TV by the Korean firms. Despite the disadvantages implied by the technological regime of digital TV and the risks facing early entrants in trajectory choice and initial market formation, the Korean firms had achieved a Lpath-creating catch-upX in the sense they chose a different path from the Japanese forerunning firms.As they have been closely watching the technological trends and the standard setting process, there was less risk of choosing the right or wrong technological trajectory. Also, despite the lack of sufficient capability and core knowledge base, the Korean firms had some complementary asset, such as the experience of producing analogue TV, and were able to develop the prototype digital TV and the ASIC chips, given the accesses to the foreign knowledge via overseas R&D posts and acquisition of a foreign company. To secure the initial market size, the Korean targeted the US market from the beginning, and their sources for competitive advantages were the speedy setting up the production system for mass production of products at the initial stage.The initial failure of the Japanese firms and the success of the Korean firms do suggest that the period of paradigm shift, like this toward digital technology, can serve as a window of opportunity for those late-comers who are equipped with the capability to create complementary assets for grabbing new technological opportunity while penalizing the forerunner.

No abstract

No abstract

The pattern of recurring construction problems encountered in electrical transmission substation projects is a very pertinent phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to explore the possible reasons for such recurrences and to uncover unusual factors. To achieve this, unstructured interviews were conducted. A list of possible reasons were collected. The reasons were found to be interrelated and have mutual influence. The study revealed four unusual factors: `management did not care', `inherited problems from earlier phases', `perceptions of project success were not the same', and `projects were completed anyway'. The study also uncovered some underlying conceptual ambiguities in which further investigations were necessary. These ambiguities included the perspectives of project, the perception of project success and the criteria of project success.

No abstract

No abstract