Sovereign Ambidexterity: A VRIO View from Seoul

I recently returned from a whistle-stop workshop in Seoul, convened by NPL to address methods and standards for next-generation semiconductors. The meeting was opened by Prof. Young Chang Joo (former Vice-Minister of Science and ICT), who outlined South Korea's incredible technological trajectory in four distinct phases:

• 1960s: Building national capability (e.g., steel works)
• 1970s-80s: Government-directed industrialization (e.g., shipbuilding)
• 1990s: The "Fast Follower" era (e.g., semiconductors)
• 2000s+: Evolution to the "Super-Gap" (e.g., displays, mobile)

Given this track record of industrial strategy execution, why was the UK invited? Prof. Joo noted steeply falling growth predictions and suggested that the UK possesses a distinct ecosystem strength: a historic dominance of lower TRLs. While Korea has mastered industrial translation, the UK maintains a structural advantage in broad-based exploration.

The Challenge of National Ambidexterity

This creates a fascinating case study in organization ambidexterity applied at the sovereign level. Organizations require fundamentally different structures to exploit the present and explore the future. History’s most famous R&D labs - Bell Labs, Xerox PARC, Google X - were essentially corporate "skunkworks," designed to discover the next while the parent company optimized the now.

At a national level, the analogy is striking. If Korea faces the "0 to 1" challenge of fundamental discovery, the UK faces the "1 to n" challenge of scaling.

A Transnational VRIO Stack

To achieve a sustainable competitive advantage, we look for VRIO resources: assets that are Valuable, Rare, Inimitable, and Organizationally embedded.

In this framework, the UK is strong on V & R. Our science base consistently generates valuable and rare ideas, from pharmaceuticals to graphene. However, Korea dominates on O (Organization): the systemic ability to embed innovation into industrial structure - from the integrated prowess of the chaebols to supply chain density and fabrication yield.

Crucially, without the O, it is nearly impossible to achieve the I. The most effective route to uncopiable (Inimitable) technology is often rapid sector dominance and integration. Innovation without execution is just a publication.

Red Water vs. Blue Water

Nations do not operate in a vacuum. The USA and China have emerged as "full-stack" superpowers, adept at both discovery and manufacturing. For mid-sized nations, this necessitates a new approach to strategy.

In innovation theory, we often contrast "red ocean" (cutthroat competition) with "blue ocean" (uncontested markets) strategies. It could be said that the UK frequently "drifts" into blue water; we find uncontested space because we invent new categories, but often fail to anchor them. Conversely, Korea transforms red oceans into blue ones through a 'Super-Gap' strategy. In sectors like DRAM and OLEDs, they haven't just competed; they have redefined the technical envelope so aggressively that they render the competition irrelevant.

The open question for UK research leaders is whether our current mechanisms (Innovate UK, spin-out incentives) are sufficient to fix our missing "O," or if they simply subsidize more "V."

Flattening the J-Curve

Our opportunity as research leaders lies in recognizing that Fundamental Exploration (UK strength) and Industrial Scaling (Korea strength) are not opposing forces, but two halves of a sustainable competitive advantage.

Seen in this light, deep collaboration between the UK and Korea is more than a trade deal; it is a structural strategic fit. This logic underpins the newly signed Framework for Semiconductor Cooperation. By coupling the UK’s fundamental research with Korea’s scaling capability, we can potentially flatten the J-curve -reducing the "valley of death" between the capital intensity and the industrial returns of innovation.

In a geopolitical world that is dominated by giants, a composite VRIO partnership between agile, mid-sized nations may be the smartest strategic move.