U.S.-Japan Strategic Alliances in the Semiconductor Industry Technology Transfer, Competition, and Public Policy (1992) / Chapter Skim
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8 Issues for U.S. Policy: Global Technological Stratification and U.S. Technological Capabilities
8 Issues for U.S. Policy: Global Technological Stratification and U.S. Technological Capabilities
Pages 59-66
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From page 59... ...
In the 1970s it became clear that semiconductor firms could not remain technologically self-sufficient, as equipment makers started to suggest equipment that the firms were not intimately involved in designing such as ion implanters at National Semiconductor. The role of equipment makers became more important as the industry shifted from being labor to capital intensive.
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From page 60... ...
Although some might argue that Hitachi possesses most of this capability, the Texas Instruments of the 1960s is gone forever, and no company can push technology forward on its own. Semiconductor equipment companies play an important role in the overall technical progress of the industry.
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From page 61... ...
investment recently.32 A key question is whether the U.S.-owned portion of the semiconductor equipment industry can remain viable in the face of the conditions outlined above. If the answer is no, the next question is whether a predominantly Japaneseowned equipment-making industry will be adequate to support the maintenance of semiconductor process design capability in the United States.33 DOWNSTREAM TRENDS: SYSTEMS, COMPONENTS, AND PROPRIETARY ARCHITECTURES On August 12, 1981, IBM Corporation launched its first personal computer, creating an industrial miniboom for semiconductors, disk dnves, software, and countless other products.
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From page 62... ...
In the months following the ACE announcement, the consortium quadrupled in size to include more than 80 computer companies from the United States, Japan, and Europe. Successful implementation of the ACE initiative would position its members to define industry direction by thwarting rivals in the commercial sector and gaining access to markets for networked computers.
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From page 63... ...
A second significant alliance was launched on July 5, 1991, when Apple Computer and IBM Corporation joined forces in a wide-ranging pact to jointly develop powerful, easy-to-use desktop computer systems. Formerly fierce rivals, the two companies will cooperate in the development of nextgeneration computer operating software and advanced RISC hardware.
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From page 64... ...
Bringing German electronics giant Siemens AG into the Apple-IBM camp will have two major effects. First, by sharing the burden of building a $700 million advanced chip factory in France, and sharing proven 16 megabit DRAM production technology, the partners build a base for their efforts to develop a production worthy 64 megabit DRAM.
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From page 65... ...
On the other hand, U.S. companies worry about a new trend of several large Japanese computer companies bringing mass production techniques to writing programs.35 Furthermore, what the Japanese companies cannot make, they can usually buy because of their capital resources.
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From page 66... ...
Furthermore, as microprocessors enter an era of commodity pricing, a severe challenge could be posed to the profitability and future of microprocessor vendors that have relied on proprietary architectures to maintain market share. Thus, the personal computer and semiconductor industries have entered a crucial period of alignments and realignments based on global alliances.
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