Technology Policy and Complex Strategic Alliance Networks in the Global Semiconductor Industry: An Analysis of the Effects of Policy Implementation on Cooperative R&D Contract Networks, Industry Recovery, and Firm Performanc

This research analyzes the impact of U.S. Federal technology policy on the emergence of a complex network of strategic alliances in the semiconductor industry during a critical period in its evolution. During the mid-1980s the U.S. region of the global semiconductor industry was on the verge of collapse. A tectonic shift in the technological landscape occurred favoring the robust networked organizational form found in the Japanese keiretsu, and by 1985 Japan had taken the largest share of the global market. In the United States, industry leaders and policymakers moved to support and protect the U.S. manufacturing and supply infrastructure, crafting an organizationally innovative technology policy, called Sematech, which was implemented in 1987.;Sematech was a public-private industry consortium that included fourteen U.S. firms, featuring sponsorship and protection by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Sematech is widely regarded as a critical element in the recovery of the U.S. region of the semiconductor industry. However, very few studies exist that demonstrate empirically how policy implementation achieved policy outcomes. This dissertation presents new evidence and analysis revealing a global network of research and development (R&D) based strategic alliances residing between policy and outcomes.;The primary argument of this dissertation is that the emergent R&D contract network in the semiconductor industry represents a critical but overlooked element in the causal logic of policy implementation, which represents an intermediate causal mechanism residing between technology policy formulation and implementation, on one hand, and industry recovery and firm performance outcomes, on the other. The central propositions of this research are, first, that technology policy, via Sematech, facilitated the emergence of a complex self-organizing strategic alliance network and enhanced the network centrality and autonomy of member firms. Second, enhancements in industry network structure and firm network position contributed to the recovery of the U.S. region of the industry and firm performance outcomes.;To investigate these propositions, this dissertation uses multiple longitudinal data sets covering 1986 to 2001, including strategic profile reports from the market research firm ICE/IC Insights, world semiconductor trade statistics from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), and other statistics from SIA. The methods of analysis include social network analysis, correlation and analysis of variance, fixed-effects and mixed-effects regression, and structural equation modeling.;The results of the analysis provide support for the research propositions, suggesting that Sematech catalyzed the emergence of the network, enhanced its structural cohesion, and enhanced the centrality and autonomy of member firms. The results further suggest that networks are a critical element mediating between policy implementation and policy outcomes. Finally, this research supports the broader conclusion that governments can achieve objectives through inter-organizational innovations aimed at public-private cooperation and the development and administration of robust policy networks.