Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Interpreting the stage or status of competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry is
complicated. If one focuses on restructuring then competitiveness would be
expected to be strong and increasing, following the late 1990s restructuring. The
data as presented by Shin and Hassink (
2011
) suggest that indeed this cluster
became more competitive after the late 1990 restructuring. If this is the focus
then competitiveness would indicate the cluster is in the latter part of the Explor-
atory Expansion stage. At the same time however, before the late 1990s
restructuring, growth of the industry and other dimensions suggested the cluster
was converging (slowing down). This suggests a decrease in competitiveness and
thus places the cluster in the later part of the Exploitive Expansion stage. Given that
the strongest indicator is one of continued growth and expansion of the cluster it is
viewed as being in the later part of the Exploratory Expansion stage of the life-
cycle.
12.5.6 Knowledge and Information
Knowledge and information was highly dispersed early in the shipbuilding cluster's
development (take-off and Exploratory Expansion stages). Yet in the early stages of
development the focus was on building much larger ships and boats but ones that
required minimal new knowledge and knowhow such as oil tankers and LPG
carriers (Shin and Hassink
2011
). Increasingly in the 1980s and especially after
the 1990s when knowhow and demand awareness where at a peak, market exploi-
tation led to broadening the product mix and creating increasingly more diverse and
complex products such as ocean liners, drilling platforms and military ships
(submarines, battle ships, and destroyers). Thus, as the cluster companies move
toward a comprehensive shipbuilding portfolio the range and diversity of knowl-
edge appears to have been moving toward standardization and thus toward greater
homogeneity. Given this it appears that the state of the knowledge dimension is at
the middle to latter part of the Exploitive Expansion life-cycle stage.
Early in the history of the shipbuilding cluster development of new and best
practice technology was acquired from other countries. After this technology was
mastered and incorporated by Korean cluster companies incremental innovation
occurred in an effort to transform the basic technology into brand name products
and services. Production process was continually renewed from internal company
innovation and the creation of public-private research facilities for the creation and
testing of prototypical new technologies. Like for production process, market
analysis and research expanded as the cluster moved into the early stages of the
Exploratory Expansion stage continuing on into what increasingly appears to be
early entry into the Exploitive Expansion stage. Beyond investment in new
technology, Korean companies also invested in increasingly large ship building
infrastructure well into the 1990s and then again after the restructuring in the late
1990s to accommodate expanding the cluster market into shipbuilding areas requir-
ing more sophisticated inputs such as ocean liners, military ships and boats and
drilling platforms (Shin and Hassink
2011
). These developments included new
