Abstract
The research adopts multi-criterion analysis to face cross-strait cooperative and competitive (co-opetitive) strategies problem in the crystalline silicon solar cell industry between Taiwan and China. The analysis framework is based on the national competitiveness. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach and TOPSIS analysis are applied to analyze firm-level data, gathered from the solar cell companies across the Taiwan Strait. For the Taiwanese firms, their relative national competitiveness lies in technology development, domestic market, international competition in related industries, and subsidy policy. For the Chinese firms, domestic market, procurement conditions, customization, intellectual resources, risk capital, and human quality are found to be their competitive advantages. Both China and Taiwan have entered into the emerging solar cell industry, with an aim to climb beyond the ladder of catch up. The results have shown that Taiwan and China can explore the possibility of forging strategic alliances by exploiting national competitiveness on the demand side. Above all, the paper has managed to spotlight demand conditions as the crucial factors for China and Taiwan to enhance their international competitiveness in the emerging solar cell industry.
Highlights
Growing global concern on the triple crisis of finance, environment, and development has given rise to extensive research and investment in renewable energy such as photovoltaic, solar thermal, wind power, hydropower, and fuel cell to replace fossil fuel as the primary energy source
The paper has managed to spotlight demand conditions as the crucial factors for China and Taiwan to enhance their international competitiveness in the emerging solar cell industry
The return rate of 30.3% seems insufficient to represent the entire industry, the samples are collected from the representative firms in the crystalline silicon solar cell industry and should be sufficient to represent the competitive situation of the whole industry
Summary
Growing global concern on the triple crisis of finance, environment, and development has given rise to extensive research and investment in renewable energy such as photovoltaic, solar thermal, wind power, hydropower, and fuel cell to replace fossil fuel as the primary energy source. Heightening concern has existed among governments around the globe that the national competitiveness will be crippled by the threat of fossil fuel depletion as development is driven by increasing energy consumption and fossil fuel still serves as the primary energy source. This had led to relentless efforts by governments in many countries in search for sustainable alternative energy sources through both R&D and market stimulation policies, of which the solar cell industry is one of the major focus, as seen in Germany and Italy [3].
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