Competitive Advantage Case Study

Taiwan's Competitive Advantage in Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs)

OR

Abstract:
Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) technology first hit the consumer market in the 1960s in the form of watches, calculators etc. By the late 1990s, it was widely used in notebooks, PCs, cell phones, personal digital devices and so on. LCD TVs with their premium price tag represented a relatively small segment of the overall television market even in 2003. However, LCD TV production was expected to go up in 2004. Consequently, prices were likely to drop to levels affordable to the average customer by 2005. Since the late 1990s, a vast majority of LCD products such as notebook PCs, cell phones, personal digital devices were made in Asia. As in 2003 Taiwanese manufacturers dominated the notebook computer industry. This gave Taiwanese LCD-makers a competitive advantage in the booming LCD TV business. However, Korea and Japan dominated the LCD business. Taiwan trailed Japan in LCD technologies. Besides Taiwan, with its high cost of land and labour was losing its competitive advantage as a manufacturing base to China.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To discuss the competitive landscape in Asia in the LCD business, with specific references to the competitive advantage of Taiwan in the technology.

Keywords : Taiwan; Core Competency & Competitive Advantage Case Study; Taiwan's competitive advantage; Taiwan and LCD; Small and medium enterprises; Cluster; Liquid crystal display; Thin film transistor; Plasma display; Samsung; LG Philips; AU Optronics; Sharp; Korea; Volatility; OBM