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Internationalisation of Innovation: Why Chip Design Moving to Asia

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  • Dieter Ernst

    (Economics Study Area, East-West Center)

Abstract

This paper will appear in International Journal of Innovation Management, special issue in honor of Keith Pavitt, (Peter Augsdoerfer, Jonathan Sapsed, and James Utterback, guest editors), forthcoming. Among Keith Pavitt's many contributions to the study of innovation is the proposition that physical proximity is advantageous for innovative activities that involve highly complex technological knowledge But chip design, a process that creates the greatest value in the electronics industry and that requires highly complex knowledge, is experiencing a massive dispersion to leading Asian electronics exporting countries. To explain why chip design is moving to Asia, the paper draws on interviews with 60 companies and 15 research institutions that are doing leading-edge chip design in Asia. I demonstrate that "pull" and "policy" factors explain what attracts design to particular locations. But to get to the root causes that shift the balance in favor of geographical decentralization, I examine "push" factors, i.e. changes in design methodology ("system-on-chip design") and organization ("vertical specialization" within global design networks). The resultant increase in knowledge mobility explains why chip design - that, in Pavitt's framework is not supposed to move - is moving from the traditional centers to a few new specialized design clusters in Asia. A completely revised and updated version has been published as: " Complexity and Internationalisation of Innovation: Why is Chip Design Moving to Asia?," in International Journal of Innovation Management, special issue in honour of Keith Pavitt, Vol. 9,1: 47-73.

Suggested Citation

  • Dieter Ernst, 2003. "Internationalisation of Innovation: Why Chip Design Moving to Asia," Economics Study Area Working Papers 64, East-West Center, Economics Study Area, revised Mar 2004.
    • Handle: RePEc:ewc:wpaper:wp64
    as

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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sumner J. La Croix & Denise Eby Konan, 2002. "Intellectual Property Rights in China: The Changing Political Economy of Chinese–American Interests," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 759-788, June.
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    3. Dieter Ernst & Linsu Kim, 2002. "Global Production Networks, Information Technology and Knowledge Diffusion," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(3), pages 147-153.
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    Cited by:

    1. Leonardo Costa Ribeiro & Glenda Kruss & Gustavo Britto & Ricardo Machado Ruiz & Américo Tristão Bernardes & Eduardo da Motta e Albuquerque, 2012. "Unveiling Global Innovation Networks," Textos para Discussão Cedeplar-UFMG 463, Cedeplar, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
    2. Brown, Clair & Linden, Greg, 2007. "Semiconductor Engineers in a Global Economy," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt6fr9b2p9, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    3. Jayan Jose Thomas, 2008. "Innovation in India and China : Challenges and Prospects in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology," Development Economics Working Papers 22518, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    4. Gregory Tassey, 2010. "Rationales and mechanisms for revitalizing US manufacturing R&D strategies," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 35(3), pages 283-333, June.
    5. Fuller, Douglas B. & Akinwande, Akintunde I. & Sodini, Charles G., 2017. "The globalization of R&D's implications for technological capabilities in MNC home countries: Semiconductor design offshoring to China and India," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 14-23.
    6. Adams, Pamela & Fontana, Roberto & Malerba, Franco, 2013. "The magnitude of innovation by demand in a sectoral system: The role of industrial users in semiconductors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 1-14.
    7. E. Fabio Arcangeli & Giorgio Padrin, 2004. "Endogenous space in the Net era," ERSA conference papers ersa04p438, European Regional Science Association.
    8. Brown, Clair & Linden, Greg, 2005. "Offshoring in the Semiconductor Industry: Historical Perspectives," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt0wv0k78t, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.

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