Innovation Strategy of Mobile Industry in Korea: Case Study of CDMA

The successful innovation of CDMA has an important effect upon not only the export competitiveness of domestic mobile-industry but also the diffusion of technology. This achievement of CDMA innovation was possible through the base on the experience of TDX innovation at 1980's. This paper analyses the innovation system of from TDX to CDMA. The TDX-CDMA innovation system has the general characteristics. National Research Institution (ETRI) learns and absorbs the original foreign technology and the foreign technology owner (Qualcomm) cooperatively within this innovation system. In this respect, the CDMA innovation system is a global collaborative innovation system. But, the CDMA innovation system has fundamental limitations. It needs structural transformation to overcome the problems. Firstly, market expansion is the best policy to secure 'technology-opportunity'. It needs to reinforce the diffusion policy of CDMA technology in order to increase the number of nations adopting the 'CDMA method'. Secondly, the CDMA innovation system should be transformed from the established global learning system to the global developing system for ensuring core-technology by the expansion of investment to the development of technology of core-components and the applied software programs