Learning from Customers

Abstract

This article explores the firm-level competitive edge that underlies the dominance of Taiwanese manufacturers in the global production of notebook PCs. Based on the study of the business flow of original design manufacturing trade and the author's interviews with outsourcing and subcontracting firms, the article argues that the successful formation of multifaceted capabilities in product development, mass production, and logistics, as well as the creation of information advantages, underpin the drastic rise of Taiwan's position in the global competitive landscape. The article also examines the mechanism through which such firm-level competitiveness has been created, and it argues that the unique attributes of the notebook PC value chains have allowed Taiwanese firms to effectively absorb technology, know-how, and information by interacting with and learning from a wide variety of customers, and thus enhance their competitiveness as original design manufacturing suppliers.