Inter-firm Dynamics in Notebook PC Value Chains and the Rise of Taiwanese Original Design Manufacturing Firms

Synchronized Factories

“…An increasing number of case studies have shown that access to a global production network is indeed associated with the acquisition of critical capabilities and high-quality goods. Analyses have been carried out in many sectors, including apparel (Gereffi , 1999 ), motorcycles (Fujita, 2011 ), agroindustry (Cafaggi et al, 2012 ), and the computer industry (Kawakami, 2011 ). In this section we provide additional systematic evidence showing that participation in production networks is associated with improved competencies and higher-quality goods.…”

“…Evidence of successful cases of learning within the chain can be found in many sectors, such as apparel (Gereffi , 1999 ), motorcycles (Fujita, 2011 ), agroindustry (Cafaggi et al, 2012 ), and the computer industry (Kawakami, 2011 ). In some cases, knowledge and skills that fi rst-tier suppliers absorb from global players also diffuse to other fi rms (Poon, 2004 ).…”

The ODM Model and Co-Evolution in the Global Notebook PC Industry: Evidence from Taiwan

“…Nevertheless, it is running the danger of oversimplification as well as under-socialization. For example, Kawakami (2011) argued that "… Intel possesses the power not only to set standards but also to drive the chain dynamics by redistributing the valueadded in its favor". However, even the Wintelism did determine everything, the narrowly defined theoretical framework of D. Y.-R. YANG, Y.-C. CHEN GVCs provides very few conceptual tool to further explore such relevant "black box" (Wen & Yang, 2010).…”

“…The modularization thesis argues that the competitiveness of the ODMs in the PC industry is resulted from the modularization of PC's system architecture. The thesis gives prominence to the roles played by the lead firms and the platform leaders (such as Intel and Microsoft) in setting up such architecture (Borrus, 2000;Borrus & Zysman, 1997;Sturgeon & Lee, 2005;Kawakami, 2011;Sturgeon & Kawakami, 2011). For instance, emphasizing the dominant role of the Wintelism and the lead firms (HP, Dell, IBM, etc.…”

“…), Sturgeon and Lee (2005) illustrated how the intense competition and short product life cycles in the PC market motivate lead firms to spread risk and lower cost by outsourcing production to the ODMs (Sturgeon & Lee, 2005). Kawakami's decent study acknowledges the Taiwanese ODMs had exploited those inter-firm relationships in enhancing their capabilities, she still highlights the role of the platform leader-WINTEL, simplified the story with the large substitutability of these ODMs in the modular system architecture (Kawakami, 2011). However, in other ICT products like iPhone, the ODMs' collaboration with the brand companies is even more durable than those platform providers like INTEL.…”