Historically, Japanese firms have been leading the optical disk industry in technological development and market development; however, Taiwanese and Korean firms are quickly catching up and have surpassed Japanese firms in terms of production volume. This paper focuses on the optical disk industry in Taiwan and analyzes the factors that have enabled Taiwanese firms to quickly catch up to Japanese firms. Our analysis show that cooperation with Japanese firms and international specialization have been the prerequisites of business activities in Taiwanese firms. This suggests that symbiotic relationships as well as competitive rivalries exist between firms in developed countries and those in developing countries that are quickly catching up.