Taiwan's PC Industry, 1976–2010: The Evolution of Organizational Capabilities

Abstract

The stellar growth of Taiwan's personal-computer (PC) industry over the past three decades represents a paradox. Participating in the global production system, local firms in Taiwan grew in association with established firms in the West. Despite their technical know-how, manufacturing prowess, and size, most leading Taiwanese firms did not develop their own capabilities in branding and marketing. A close examination of the historical evolution of the industry reveals that interactions with established companies in the West, in addition to local competition, decisively shaped capability development among latecomer firms. A few firms in Taiwan that eventually joined the ranks of global PC brands had been investing in marketing early, guided by a strategic vision rather than near-term economic calculation.

Application of Business Niche in Strategic Management: A Study Based on Oriental Idea of Harmony

“…Any enterprise will never obtain harmonious niche without optimized human resource niche. Human resource, which is the core of an enterprise's internal ecology, adapts a company for the vision-nature-niche circle [24]. Enterprises should inspire employees, stimulate innovation, develop values consistent with the vision and construct learning organizations.…”

Learning by supplying and competition threat

“…Some renowned examples of a transition from pure OEMs to own brand manufacturing (OBM) producers are Samsung's microwave ovens and South Korea's automobile industry. 1 Taiwanese firms Asus and Acer have also followed this path; in fact, Acer's own-brand notebooks are known to have harmed its contract-manufacturing relationship with Dell (Yu and Shih, 2014). 2 The development of Mitsubishi Heavy Industry's MRJ (Mitsubishi Regional Jet) is another recent example, where Mitsubishi acquired the know-how of modern airliners through the process of supplying, together with other major Japanese suppliers, 35% of the components for Boeing's 787 airliner.…”