The creation and incubation of the semiconductor industry led by the government of Taiwan is a great success for supporters of a strong industrial policy. This led to the domination of the island nation “cast” in world trade companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) produce models of design firms “fabless”. Both have a combined global market share of nearly 70% of overall business segment. This success is all the more surprising when the initiative began, the country has had some great companies that could scale to support R & D and training necessary to enter these Capital intensive industries sophisticated scale. There were companies with deep roots or basic technology skills to even begin. However, government planners have recognized the challenges of upgrading the technological base of the nation and made a strategy that led to the creation of “lead agencies” to serve as a vehicle to bridge between the peak technology sources (especially from abroad) and marketing carried out by local companies.
by
Willy Shih,
Jyun-Cheng Wang
Source: Harvard Business School
25 pages.
Date Posted: February 13, 2009. Prod #: 609089-PDF-ENG
Update the economy: industrial policy and the settlement of the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry
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