The camera industry is a familiar example— both Canon & Nikon began by making copies of German Leica and Contax cameras, then tweaked them, then moved into innovative original designs. By the 70s or 80s, Canon and Nikon had surmounted their industry, while Contax was bought by a Japanese bit player and Leica was reduced to a niche luxury manufacturer.
http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/history/canon_story/1946_...http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/rangefinder/sp.htm
And yet, Japanese and Korean engineers still have problems with creativity relative to their western counterparts. A lot of that has to do with a hierarchical Confucian culture. Sure, they've mastered quality and efficiency, but some areas need more than that, namely software.
The camera industry is a familiar example— both Canon & Nikon began by making copies of German Leica and Contax cameras, then tweaked them, then moved into innovative original designs. By the 70s or 80s, Canon and Nikon had surmounted their industry, while Contax was bought by a Japanese bit player and Leica was reduced to a niche luxury manufacturer. http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/history/canon_story/1946_... http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/rangefinder/sp.htm
The same thing happened in the bicycle industry. Shimano began by manufacturing upgraded copies of European derailleurs, and by the 90s had reached a near-monopoly on bicycle component manufacturing. http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/Shimano_derailleurs_-_pu... http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/Shimano_derailleurs_-_fr...