Kwon Oh-hyun, chief executive and vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, called on his executives and employees to develop new growth models for the Internet of Things as part of efforts to boost the company’s global competitiveness.

In his New Year speech to some 400 employees at the company’s office in Seoul on Friday, Kwon said Samsung should establish a creative corporate culture in order to face new challenges in times of economic uncertainty.

“We should move to develop new businesses such as smart health care and smart home systems to boost our competitiveness in the Internet of Things,” Kwon said.

“We should establish a foundation by developing a creative corporate culture through the use of a collective intelligence system like that of the MOSAIC program, which was started last year, enabling us to face up to new challenges.”

He went on to say that Samsung should aim to maintain its competitiveness by differentiating its core businesses not only in advanced markets but also emerging markets.

The tech giant also needed to generate sales and profit with new businesses such as household appliances and networks and printing solutions this year, he said.

Its mobile device business should be further improved by strengthening its content service platform, he added.

“The company should lead in technology (development) and the market by satisfying consumer needs and contributing to social growth,” Kwon said.

The vice chairman also urged the company to bolster its competitiveness in digital contents and services that can add to the value of hardware devices.

Samsung’s stress on the importance of a new growth engine comes at a time when the tech giant’s traditional money-making business has weakened.

The growth of Samsung’s smartphone business lost steam last year as its Chinese rivals gained ground, armed with inexpensive low-end models.

According to a market report, Samsung’s global market share in smartphones dropped 7.7 percentage points on-year in the third quarter, to 24.4 percent.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)