Plastic promises: the disruptive potential of OLEDs and e‐paper for the European display industry

Purpose – The paper aims to explore two developing display technologies, organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and e‐paper, with a view to assessing their potential to disrupt existing markets and thereby offer an opportunity for European firms to play a larger role in the Information and communication technologies (ICTs) sector. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an extensive study including literature review and detailed desk research on the technologies themselves, their potential application and market analysis. Selected interviews with industry representatives were also carried out, which further informed a detailed value chain analysis and assessment of the EU position in these technologies. Findings – OLEDs and e‐paper have the potential to disrupt current displays market and in so doing they may enable EU companies to enter at selected points in the value chain to compete with the Asian ICT industry. Originality/value – Although there is a huge literature on the technical aspects of these technologies, speculative market analysis and journalistic assessments, this paper brings all of these facets together in a sophisticated value chain analysis that indicates opportunities for Europe's ICT sector.