A Study on the Core Competence of 3D Animation Industry

[[abstract]] In 2002, the central government of Taiwan identified Digital Content Industry (DCI) as one of the strategic industry for future development, with the Animation Industry as one of the major DCI. With continuing changes of the global competitive markets , Taiwan 3D animation corporations are facing the transition of business model from OEM to creating their own brand in recent years. This study focuses on finding out the development status of Taiwan 3D animation corporations from the perspective of core competence, investigating what core competence Taiwan 3D animation industry owns and lacks, examining opinions of the industry, explore the principal competitive strategies of the 3D animation industry in U.S.A., Japan, China, and Korea and propose development strategies of Taiwan 3D animation industry. The major methodology used for this study is in-depth interview. Two kinds of subjects are being interviewed, including management level personnel of 3D animation corporations and scholars in the field of animation. The results of this study indicate that there are common and complementary core competences of 3D animation industry in Taiwan. The core competence that Taiwan 3D animation industry possess are (1) well experienced production personnel, (2) fruitful international production experience, (3) extensive Chinese cultural heritage that can be used as elements in production, (4) good information management system, and (5) good personnel training system. The core competences that Taiwan needs are (1) ability for creative development, (2) marketing ability, (3) ability to integrate resources, (4) ability to acquire sufficient funding, and (5) and the ability in managing innovative cooperation. If only Taiwan 3D animation industry can fully utilize their core competence and try to make up with the competence that it lacks, the industry can develop to its full potential.