The impact of internal fabrication experience and external collaborative linkages on the adoption of process technology innovations in the North American semiconductor industry

Michael Joseph Leiblein, Purdue University

Abstract

This dissertation examines why firms differ in their likelihood and timing of new process technology adoption. In contrast to existing research which explains responsiveness to technological change in terms of firm characteristics such as age, size, or investment in research and development, this dissertation argues that differences in technological responsiveness are primarily the result of inter-firm differences in the distribution of technological capabilities. These capabilities, in turn, are argued to be the result of cumulative historical experiences. In particular, this dissertation suggests that a firm's accumulated stock of technological knowledge is a function of its internal fabrication experiences, collaborative linkages with competitors, and alternate-sourcing linkages and that this stock of technological knowledge is the primary driver of a firm's technological responsiveness. The model is empirically tested using a sample of 141 firms from the North American semiconductor industry. The sample was accumulated from annual reports published by the Integrated Circuit Engineering Corporation between 1990 and 1993, a fabrication database published by the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International Association in conjunction with Strategic Marketing Associates in 1996, and from the American, European, and International volumes of the F&S Predicasts Index of Industries and Corporations for the period 1980 through 1993. The conceptual model is tested with a complimentary log-log likelihood survival methodology. The results provide substantial support for the model and indicate that both internal fabrication experiences and inter-firm collaborative linkages increase the likelihood of process technology adoption. No statistically significant relationship is found for alternate-sourcing relationships. The findings further indicate that the relationship between the hazard of adoption and internal fabrication experience is strongest when the technology is first developed and diminishes over time. Additional tests demonstrate that as the technology becomes older, and presumably better codified, it is easier to transfer between firms through collaborative linkages. Thus, the results show that, although initially limited, the relationship between the hazard of adoption and the use of collaborative linkages strengthens over time.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Woo, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Management

COinS