Is there innovation in the K-pop industry? A theoretical perspective

ABSTRACTThis paper proposes a novel theoretical perspective which views the K-pop industry through the lens of M-ies model. To date, the innovative aspects of K-pop have been largely neglected by business scholarship, in part due to the inadequacies of the existing theories to capture the dynamic nature of its development. To fill this gap, M-ies model is devised. It posits that innovators (i) were critical in creating a sustained level of innovative momentum (M), as they implemented strategies (s) to respond to the external environment (e). Using the M-ies model, we also explain how an intriguing parallel can be drawn between a seemingly unlikely pair, the K-pop and the semiconductor industry. In so doing, we point to the significance of producer-innovators, and how private sector – in particular, SM Entertainment as the first mover – was the main agent of creative destruction.KEYWORDS: K-pop industryinnovationcatch-upcreative destructionM-ies modelSouth Korea Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsJangwoo LeeJangwoo Lee is the Director of Success Economy Institute, an Emeritus Professor of Management at Kyungpook National University, the current President of World Cultural Industry Forum (WCIF), and the vice president of the Korean Federation of Science & Technology Societies. He was the President (2014/2015) of the Korean Academic Society of Business Administration (KASBA) and a non-executive director of the Korea Foundation. He has written extensively about issues related to strategic management and innovation, including the most recent K-pop Innovation (2023).Lynn PyunLynn Pyun is Associate Professor of International Business at Ewha Womans University’s Graduate School of International Studies in Seoul, Korea. She is interested in the institutional forces as they shape firm behaviour, and has been researching how this plays out in the realms of human resource management, innovation and gender issues. She is also currently serving as a Regional Editor of Asia Pacific Business Review.