Samsung Electronics: Success by Design
BSTR/228
IBS Center for Management Research
Samsung Electronics: Success by Design
This case was written by Sachin Govind, under the direction of S.S.George, IBS Center for Management Research. It was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation.
2006, IBS Center for Management Research. All rights reserved.
To order copies, call +91-08417-236667/68 or write to IBS Center for Management Research (ICMR), IFHE Campus, Donthanapally,
Sankarapally Road, Hyderabad 501 504, Andhra Pradesh, India or email: info@icmrindia.org www.icmrindia.org BSTR/228
Samsung Electronics: Success by Design
“An enterprise‟s most vital assets lie in its design and other creative capacities. I believe that the ultimate winners of the 21st century will be determined by these skills.”1
- Kun-Hee Lee, chairman, Samsung Corp., in 2006.
“We want to be the Mercedes of home electronics.”2
- Yun Jong Yong, chief executive, Samsung, in 2004.
“Good design is not simply about aesthetics or making a product easier to use. It‟s a central part of the business process, adding value to products and services and creating new markets.” 3
- Tony Blair, prime minister, UK.
INTRODUCTION
In the 2006 IDEA (Industrial Design Excellence Awards)4 competition, Korea-based Samsung
Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung) won a gold (for a touch messenger 5) and two silver (for a portable digital projector and a digital presenter) awards. With these wins, Samsung held on to its number one position as the company that had won the most IDEAs in the last five years.
Samsung had made the decision to adopt design as a source of competitive advantage in the 1990s.
Earlier, the company‟s products had been uninspiring and undifferentiated. In the early 1990s, the
Group chairman, Kun-Hee Lee (Lee), initiated Samsung‟s transformation from a low-end OEM6 into a world-class
IBS Center for Management Research
Samsung Electronics: Success by Design
This case was written by Sachin Govind, under the direction of S.S.George, IBS Center for Management Research. It was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation.
2006, IBS Center for Management Research. All rights reserved.
To order copies, call +91-08417-236667/68 or write to IBS Center for Management Research (ICMR), IFHE Campus, Donthanapally,
Sankarapally Road, Hyderabad 501 504, Andhra Pradesh, India or email: info@icmrindia.org www.icmrindia.org BSTR/228
Samsung Electronics: Success by Design
“An enterprise‟s most vital assets lie in its design and other creative capacities. I believe that the ultimate winners of the 21st century will be determined by these skills.”1
- Kun-Hee Lee, chairman, Samsung Corp., in 2006.
“We want to be the Mercedes of home electronics.”2
- Yun Jong Yong, chief executive, Samsung, in 2004.
“Good design is not simply about aesthetics or making a product easier to use. It‟s a central part of the business process, adding value to products and services and creating new markets.” 3
- Tony Blair, prime minister, UK.
INTRODUCTION
In the 2006 IDEA (Industrial Design Excellence Awards)4 competition, Korea-based Samsung
Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung) won a gold (for a touch messenger 5) and two silver (for a portable digital projector and a digital presenter) awards. With these wins, Samsung held on to its number one position as the company that had won the most IDEAs in the last five years.
Samsung had made the decision to adopt design as a source of competitive advantage in the 1990s.
Earlier, the company‟s products had been uninspiring and undifferentiated. In the early 1990s, the
Group chairman, Kun-Hee Lee (Lee), initiated Samsung‟s transformation from a low-end OEM6 into a world-class
References: 2. Luke W., Design vision: In Korea, www.lukew.com, February 19, 2006. 3. Competitive advantage through design, www.karo.com, 2006. 4. Roberto Verganti, Managing design-driven innovation for competitive advantage, www.innozone.dk, 2006. 6. Design – the new competitive difference, www.agelessmarketing.typepad.com, July 18, 2005. 8. Frank Rose, Seoul machine, www.wired.com, May, 2005. 9. David Rocks and Moon Ihlwan, Samsung design, www.businessweek.com, November 29, 2004. 10. Samsung: A model for China, www.businessweek.com, November 29, 2004. 11. Q&A with Samsung design boss Chung Kook Hyun, www.businessweek.com, November 29, 2004. 13. Les Echos, Samsung challenges Sony‟s stronghold, www.samsung.com, March 12, 2002. 15. Interview with former chairman of product design for Innovative Design Lab of Samsung, www.dexigner.com, June 19, 2004.