Is the technological capability gap between Hyundai and Mitsubishi converging or diverging? Findings from patent data analysis

Innovation–Development Detours for Latecomers

“…This pattern of asymmetry in mutual citations between the latecomer and incumbents is expected and is a part of the continuation of technological catch-up by the latecomers.An emerging summary of the above would be that when the latecomers have succeeded in overtaking incumbents in markets (sales), they have also succeeded in technological overtaking in terms of quantity and quality of patents as well as self-citations and mutual citations. This analysis confirms the hypothesis that technological Table4.1 Catching up by similar or different technologies: comparison between a latecomer (L) vs. incumbent (I) Author using the information fromJoo et al (2016),Oh and Joo (2015), andJoo and Lee (2010) catch-up tends to be a basis for market catch-up, which sounds very similar to Schumpeterian theory.…”

“…The answer will be sought by looking at and comparing the overtaking experiences in three pairs of latecomer and incumbent firms. We draw on the quantitative analyses ofJoo and Lee (2010),Oh and Joo (2015), andJoo et al (2016), which have each analyzed a latecomer vs. an incumbent pair, such as Samsung vs. Sony, Hyundai Motors vs. Mitsubishi Motors, and Huawei vs. Ericsson, respectively. Section 4.3 then deals with the coevolution of firms and surrounding institutions in the context of post-reform China where firms with diverse ownership have emerged, forming an ideal setting to examine the different interactions of firm ownership and institution.…”

“…Lastly, Section 4.6 summarizes the findings and provides the concluding remarks.4.2 Catching Up by Similar or Different TechnologiesThis section digs into the question of whether latecomers catch up using "similar or different" technologies from those of the forerunning firms, and it will look at the three pair-cases of overtaking of incumbents by latecomers. The section draws on the research of Joo and Lee (2010),Oh and Joo (2015), andJoo et al (2016), which has analyzed each pair of a latecomer vs. an incumbent, such as Samsung vs. Sony, Hyundai Motors vs. Mitsubishi Motors, and Huawei vs.…”

“…However, Hyundai soon separated from Ford as it wanted to sell its own brand cars and thus had a technology transfer/licensing contract with Mitsubishi in 1973. Since then, Mitsubishi had been a major source of technology for Hyundai, which almost fully relied on Mitsubishi for its engine, transmission, and exhaust systems(Oh & Joo, 2015). In 1982,…”

Toward a new paradigm of technological innovation: convergence innovation

“…It has also taken an innovation strategy to create new technologies and take different technological paths from Mitsubishi. The analysis of Oh and Joo (2015) using citation data showed that Hyundai's self-citation ratio has an increasing trend, eventually approaching Mitsubishi's. It implies that Hyundai has become as self-reliant as Mitsubishi by increasingly developing technologies that are different from those of other firms.…”