National Systems of Innovation: Creating High-Technology Industries

281 Pages·2006·2.444 MB·English

by  Stuart Peters (auth.)

National Systems of
Innovation
Creating High-Technology Industries
Stuart Peters
National Systems of Innovation
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National Systems of Innovation
Creating High-Technology Industries
Stuart Peters
© Stuart Peters 2006
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2006 978-1-4039-4614-0
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
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permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90
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Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this
work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2006 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
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PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave
Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.
Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom
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ISBN 978-1-349-52339-9 ISBN 978-0-230-51260-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230512603
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Peters, Stuart, 1965–
National systems of innovation : creating high technology industries / by
Stuart Peters.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Semiconductor industry–Government policy–United States.
2. Semiconductor industry–Government policy–East Asia. 3. Semiconductor
industry–Government policy–Europe. 4. Liquid crystal display industry–
United States. 5. Liquid crystal display industry–East Asia. 6. Liquid crystal
display industry–Europe. I Title.
HD9696.S43P48 2005
338.4′76213815–dc22 2005051454
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06
To all my friends and family
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Contents
List of Figures ix
Acknowledgements x
Introduction xi
1 ‘Merging Together’: The Semiconductor and Liquid Crystal
Display Industries 1
Technological dreams and realities 5
Semiconductors and LCDs 6
Summary 13
2 National Systems of Innovation and Path Dependency 15
Origins of the concept 18
Definition and evolution of the concept 19
Globalisation and the NSI 24
NSI and firm strategy 26
Path dependency 30
Summary 33
3 Public Policy Frameworks: A Diverse Landscape 37
Policies relating to competition, trade, and
technology 40
Japan 45
South Korea 46
European Union 51
United States 57
Summary 64
4 Semiconductors: A Truly Global Industry 68
United States 69
Japan 76
Western Europe 90
Summary 101
5 Corporate Strategy and Firm Learning 108
The competitive environment and the firm 111
Strategy and implementation 112
The learning organisation 121
vii
viii Contents
Approaches to strategy 125
Summary 126
6 Liquid Crystal Displays as an Emerging Sectoral System of
Innovation 129
The origins of LCDs 129
The early US experience 132
RCA 134
Westinghouse 138
The role of government 147
Summary 148
7 Supporting a New System of Innovation: Japan’s Strategy
in Liquid Crystal Displays 152
The new technological challenge 153
The digital watch industry 155
Automation 164
The creation of the technological gap 171
Summary 178
8 ‘Jumping Aboard’ a New Sectoral System of Innovation:
The Strategies of South Korea and Taiwan in Liquid Crystal
Displays 183
South Korea: catch-up in practice 184
The acquisition of technological capabilities 188
The ‘latecomer’ firm 194
LCDs 196
Taiwan 201
Summary 206
9 ‘Missing the Boat’ in Liquid Crystal Displays: The Strategies
of the US and Western Europe in a New Sectoral System
of Innovation 211
United States 212
The importance of production 214
LCDs 216
Western Europe 224
The role of Philips 225
The European Union 231
Summary 232
10 Conclusions 237
Bibliography 244
Index 259
List of Figures
4.1 Uncorrected value of US electronics sales by end-use
category 1950–56 71
4.2 Shipments of discrete components and integrated circuits
1963–71 72
4.3 Government procurement of integrated circuit production
1962–68 74
6.1 The basic construction of a twisted-nematic LCD 133
7.1 Shares of world trade in R&D-intensive electronics 155
7.2 US firms in the digital watch industry 159
7.3 Consumption of digital watches in the US and Japan 160
7.4 What’s what in electronic watches 162
7.5 Production of watches by the US and Japan between
1965–85 169
7.6 US LCD operations sold or closed in the 1980s 175
ix