Seizing the days of the COVID-19 pandemic: The catch-up of in vitro diagnostics companies in the Korean medical device industry

Abstract

The aim of this study is examining Korean In Vitro Diagnostics (hereafter, IVD) companies’ catch-up with established medical device companies by analyzing the process of sensing, seizing, and reconfiguration during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (hereafter, COVID-19) pandemic. The potential catch-up of medical device companies in Korea has long been known as a demanding goal due to the conservative nature of the industry. While the rise of latecomers in industries such as mobile phones and automobiles is often observed, such a rise is rarely found in the medical device industry. Korean IVD companies have consistently been aiming at overtaking the existing leaders in the industry by pursuing technological innovation backed by active R&D investment. While the extant research on the topic of catch-up is enriched, there are small number of studies on the topic of the catch-up of medical device companies. This study focuses on understanding how two Korean IVD companies, SD Biosensor and Seegene, achieved meaningful catch-up during the COVID-19 pandemic. To understand the specific catch-up during the pandemic, this study adopted case study as a suitable method to examine the interactions between the pandemic and the device companies. The study results suggest that Korean IVD companies achieved significant growth by fully leveraging their dynamic capabilities in terms of market sensing (the emerging market dynamics associated with COVID-19) and opportunity seizing.