Adaptive Market Creation and Social Acceptance of Foreign Enterprises in the Vietnamese Iron and Steel Industry: Necessary Conditions for Realizing Latecomer Advantages

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K01905
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 07080:Business administration-related
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: Kawabata Nozomu 東北大学, 経済学研究科, 教授 (20244650)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: ベトナム鉄鋼業 / キャッチダウン型技術進歩 / 適正技術 / 市場創造 / 技術選択 / 生産システム / 後発性利益 / 破壊的イノベーション

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study elucidated the process by which foreign steel enterprises expand into Vietnam, using Kyoei Steel Ltd. as a case study. In the late 1990s, Kyoei Steel, a medium-sized electric furnace company, successfully entered the Vietnamese market by providing essential technologies and products, despite not being a large blast furnace enterprise. However, in the 21st century, Kyoei Steel, which operates an electric furnace system, faced challenges from local Vietnamese companies that utilized integrated systems with small blast furnaces and induction furnace systems, preventing it from securing a dominant market share. The lesson of this study is that the technologies and production systems of foreign enterprises from advanced countries are not necessarily superior to those of local enterprises in developing countries. Business success in developing countries is achieved only when the business aligns with the country’s factor endowments and demand conditions.

Free Research Field

産業発展論

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は，先進国企業が途上国において事業を営む際に，「優れた技術・生産システムを適用できる」という先入観に疑問符をつけたものである。巨大企業ではなく中堅企業であるがゆえに，途上国で求められている技術や製品を提供できることがある。また，先進国ではチャレンジャーである中堅企業の技術・生産システムも，途上国では先進国にはない簡素なローコスト生産システムから挑戦を受けることがある。途上国での事業は，あくまでも当該国の要素賦存条件や需要条件に適合した場合に，初めて成功するのである。