Global strategy: can late arrivals catch up with established companies? a study of the world television manufacturing industry

There has been extensive research on the process by which firms build a global strategy. There has been rather less research on companies that wish to develop an integrated global strategy some years behind their well-established rivals, especially new companies from developing nations such as India and China. This paper identifies four propositions with regard to the benefits and problems associated with companies arriving much later than their well-established competitors. A study of the world television manufacturing industry - including the Chinese company, TCL, that is attempting to catch up - is then used to explore these propositions. Archival data, company data and semi-structured interviews examine the way that TCL has attempted to build a global strategy behind such rivals as LG, Samsung and Panasonic.
The findings show that a catch-up company may struggle to obtain the advantages of an integrated global strategy and may face greater problems than the existing players, particularly in the area of knowledge transfer and dissemination. In addition, the location specific advantages of a new entrant – such as those deriving from China’s low-wage economy – may not deliver competitive advantage to a new entrant. This finding is contrary to some earlier research. In addition, the learning process for the late arrival is likely to be long and expensive, especially where the technology continues to evolve rapidly and competition from existing companies remains fierce. The evidence suggests that a simple ‘catch-up’ model for developing an integrated global strategy - based on company acquisitions, bought-in technology and low-cost manufacture - may be fundamentally flawed.