Collaboration not disruption is key to start-up success in Asia, say academics

By most metrics of a start-up ecosystem, Silicon Valley comes out on top. It produces more “unicorns”, sucks in more investment, wins higher valuations and attracts the best talent, and has done so broadly uninterrupted since the 1980s.

So it is surprising that research from King’s Business School in London argues that south-east Asia’s tech scene could achieve greater success by following innovation strategies from Japan or South Korea.

Despite its dominance, Silicon Valley’s zero-sum approach — where disruptive start-ups challenge and replace incumbents — is not the only model. It differs from open innovation strategies in countries such as Japan and South Korea, where big businesses tend to collaborate with start-ups. There, start-ups ofte...
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