The Study of Strategic Competitiveness for Taiwan’s Virtual Reality Industry

Virtual reality (VR) has been increasingly attracting attention since 2015. The largest technology firms in the world, such as Google, Samsung, Sony, HTC, Facebook, and Microsoft, have invested in the development and promotion of VR products. For Taiwan, which is undergoing an industrial transformation, the method of entering this emerging business sector has become a hot topic at the national and industrial levels. Because of the growing popularity of VR, this study investigated the strategies that VR firms in Taiwan have used to stay competitive during the early stages of the development of the VR industry. The results of the literature review revealed that the VR industry has recently begun to develop. Accordingly, a research framework based on the theory of business innovation and the concept of business ecosystems was constructed to analyze business strategies applied in different stages of a technology life cycle. Primary data were collected from both supply and demand ends to inform the analysis. At the demand end, the majority of consumers were males aged 40 years and younger with limited knowledge of VR. Providing them with first-hand experience of VR products was a crucial strategy for encouraging their consumption of these products. This consumer group valued product performance and was not sensitive to price factors. At the supply end, the literature review and data on interviews with VR firms suggested that resource allocation, product and marketing strategies, and business ecosystems have all directly affected the competitiveness of firms in the VR industry. Suggestions for firms of other industries in Taiwan to penetrate the VR industry were also proposed. The research framework, data collection method, and analysis process in this study can be used to explore the VR industry and the business strategies of VR firms and develop approaches for firms of other industries in Taiwan to enter this industry. With the VR industry still in its initial stage of development, this study also provided relevant directions to the business and academic communities for future research.