Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Samsung Corporation of South Korea has emerged as a new global economic player, currently employing over 66,000 people in some 50 countries worldwide. In 2007 Samsung Electronics, the fastest growing subsidiary of the Samsung Group, had 25 production bases worldwide and 59 branches in 46 countries, in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, southeast and central Asia, and China. The multinational corporation, originating from one of the Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs), was ranked 21st among the world's top global brands. Samsung has been grown as a leader in cell phones, home-theater systems, flat-panel TVs, computer screens, and flash memory ( Rose 2005 ). In these consumer electronics categories, the mega-corporation ranked in the top three in the global market. While Tokyo-based Sony has strived for better integration of its software and electronics businesses, Samsung's key goal has placed itself next to Sony, through concentrating on electronics (→  Sony Corporation ). Of most significance among Samsung Corporation's many divisions, Samsung Electronics saw record profits and revenue in 2004–2005 overtaking Sony Corporation. Samsung earned a profit of more than 10 billion USD on sales of 56 billion USD in 2004, whereas Sony's profit was 1.53 billion USD on revenues of 66.9 billion USD in 2005. Samsung's rapid growth as a dominant global player has ... log in or subscribe to read full text