Catch‐up failure in core IT components: The case of numerical controllers

Summary A number of Korean companies as well as the Korean government have invested on manufacturing firms of the numerical controller (NC), an integrated computer that runs the automatic machining process of general purpose machining tools. However, in spite of the 20‐year venture, both the companies and the government have met with failure. In accordance with Bell's suggestion to embark on a detailed empirical study of specific industries in the catching‐up process, this study attempts to determine the characteristics of the general NC industry in terms of technological regimes and convergence. This catch‐up approach also facilitates elucidation of Korean firms’ failure in the above‐mentioned undertaking. It was then found that the regime of the NC knowledge base provides an unfavorable background for (a) access to foreign sources of technology during the product development stage, and (b) development of novel merchandise of reliable performance within an advanced and demanding user environment during t...