Samsung Strategy for R&D

Samsung
1. Samsung CEO Lee Kunhee,decided in 1993 that his company would have the vision of beating Sony to become one of the biggest, and most sought after consumer electronics brands. To accomplish this goal, he hired a group of talented young designers and challenged them to create products that had to pass the "wow" test. If the new product did not pass the test, it would be sent back to the design studio. Samsung also focused on the customer by producing cutting edge technology with stylish designs, two things customers want most from their electronics. Creating devices that change how the customer lives helped Samsung become the company that it is today.
2. In recent years, Samsung achieved its goals by no longer trying to compete with Sony, but now focusing on competing with Apple in the mobile devise market. Samsung had already surpassed Sony, and instead shifted its focus to try to win in other fields. This took Samsung to new markets in which it did not previously compete. Samsung put tremendous resources to developing these new products to compete in new markets, such as $13.4 billion research and development expense. Entering new markets with a focus on "wow" gave Samsung great products that allowed it to win share in markets where it had no presence before.
3. One of the challenges that Samsung faces by having such a diverse product portfolio is keeping up with the market on new products. The company has specialists for each product, but at the executive level it is difficult to know exactly where to put the company's resources when each division head wants money for their product. Keeping ahead of the competition with so many products requires a lot of resources and skillful deployment of all of them. There are advantages, too, however, because more successful products equals more revenue and a stronger brand overall. Another benefit of having a diverse product line is that if one product fails, the company can still be profitable, because other products are succeeding. When Samsung tries to figure out what comes after smartphones, it will want to work on a diverse range of products.
4. Samsung’s current and future strategy is customer focused, because the company is developing products with an eye to giving customers things that they enjoy. Samsung’s Chief Marketing Officer's strategy is to provide technology that will bring change to consumers' lives. That said, there is an element of being more development-focused, too. Samsung wants to make appealing products, but it focuses on emerging technology, which is something where the research and development team might build something because they want to, and figure out how to market it to customers later. That is not really a customer-focused strategy, but a development –focused one.
5. I believe Samsung will be successful in achieving its goal of becoming a leader in the Internet of Things. There are two reasons for this. One is that the company's strategy is focused on putting a lot of money into development of products consumers want. That means that whatever it comes up with will probably be appealing to the market, based on past performance. Second, Samsung has the resources to do this. It has managerial commitment, a large R&D team, and the financial resources to take the lead in developing new products, something that many other companies trying to make money in the Internet of Things cannot really say at this point. That gives Samsung a competitive advantage, so I believe they can be successful in the Internet of Things.