samsung marketing mix

SAMSUNG, AN ORIGINAL AND COMPETITIVE SOCIAL MODEL:
THE ROLE OF THE FOUNDER, LEE BYUNG-CHULL1 by Rang-Ri PARK

2

Doctor in History
Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV) University
Dominique BARJOT
Professor of Modern Economic History
Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV) University

In 2006, the economic value of the Samsung brand stood at 20th place, ahead of Dell,
Apple, Philips and Panasonic... 3 Samsung or the “three star” company was established in 1938 by an extraordinary entrepreneur, Byung Chull Lee (1910-1987) 4 . His business acumen combined with an extraordinary intuitiveness gave the group its originality within the world of
Korean chaebols (conglomerations) 5 where Samsung became the symbol and archetype for all others 6. Right from the beginning, thanks to its small and focused range of operations, the group
1

This paper is founded on long research in archives. The result is a recent book: Rang-Ri Park-Barjot, Samsung.
L’œuvre d’un entrepreneur hors pair, Byung Chull Lee, Paris, Economica, 2008, 266 p.
2

The research was supported by the Academy of Korean Studies Grant (ASK-2009-R-01).

3

« Clin d’œil : Samsung, un nouveau modèle de gestion pour faire face à la mondialisation », Entreprise et Histoire, n° 32, 2003, p. 177.
4
Rang-Ri PARK-BARJOT, « L’ascension d’un entrepreneur exceptionnel : Byung Chull Lee », in Dominique
BARJOT, Rang-Ri PARK-BARJOT (eds.), « Aux origines du miracle coréen », Conflits Actuels, n° 22, 2008-2, p.
38-53.
5

Seung-Ho KWON, Michael O’DONNELL (dir.), The Chaebol and Labour in Korea: The Development of
Management Strategy in Hyundai, London, Routledge, 2001.
6

Dominique BARJOT, Rang-Ri PARK-BARJOT (eds.), « Aux origines du miracle coréen », Conflits Actuels, n°
22, 2008-2. See too : The Korean Overseas Information Service, Handbook of Korea, JungMoonSa Printing Co.
Ltd., Seoul, Korea, 1978, 12th edition 2003. ; Byung-Nak SONG, The rise of the Korean Economy, Oxford, Oxford
University Press, 1997;