Samsung Research

1. Company Description

Samsung Electronics is part of one of the largest multi-billion dollar corporations in the world. In 2007 it exceeded the $100bn mark in annual sales for the first time in its history. This makes it one of the world's top three companies in the electronics industry where only two other companies, Siemens and Hewlett-Packard, have posted larger revenues. The name Samsung literally means ‘three stars’ or ‘tristar’ in Korean, reflecting the Samsung Group’s dominance in two further sectors: Samsung Heavy Industries and Samsung Engineering and Construction. If you are talking innovation in Samsung walks the walk and is now the established leader in consumer electronics, providing a range of leading-edge premium products and, in their own words, ‘leading the digital convergence revolution’. In so doing Samsung has made a remarkable transformation from copy-cat manufacturer to become Asia's most valuable technology company.

2. Assess company strategy and industry

In the past decade or so, the number of players in consumer electronics has grown exponentially. New markets have created opportunities for new brands and low-cost manufacturing has broken free from the low quality stigma. As such, traditional leaders such as Philips, Sony, and Matsushita have been joined by a wide range of newcomers such as LG and Samsung.

A period of consolidation in the 1980s was driven by an economy-of-scale rationale. This no longer applies. There are numerous high quality component suppliers for DVD players, TVs, radios and digital cameras, which now feed a global market; the barriers to entry as a branded source of products have never been lower.

Alongside the major international brands such as Samsung and Sony, hundreds of other makes are found in every high street, supermarket or on-line retailer. Throw ever-faster technology development into the mix, product introduction and standardization have both accelerated. Many of the major players in the...