Gaining competitive advantage through value-shifts: A case of the South Korean wireless communications industry

The central question of strategic management is how to create competitive advantage and sustain it. This case study addresses this issue from the perspective of the nature of dynamic markets. The concept of value-shift is proposed where the change over time in which the aspect of a product or service that once had value becomes obsolete or becomes a commodity. Essentially, it loses its differentiation from other products and services as others imitate or substitute for it. It is argued in this respect that it is critical to examine ways that organizations can manipulate value-shifts to gain advantage, including delaying and riding a value-shift. These concepts and dynamics are reported in a case study of the South Korean wireless communications industry.