The Development of Sweden's R&D-Intensive Electronics Industries: Exports, Outsourcing, and Territorial Distribution

Abstract

Sweden's research-intensive electronics industries have thrived by developing export-market niches that rely greatly on continuous innovation and substantial expenditures in R&D. Over the past two decades, three R&D-intensive sectors (telecommunications equipment, electronic instruments, and computing-equipment manufacturing) have experienced a progressive territorial distribution, that has made them less reliant on the metropolitan concentration of the capital for their outsourcing and research arrangements. In this article we explore the relationship between R&D intensity, territorial distribution, subcontracting, and establishment performance in the R&D-intensive electronics industries. The export performance of these industries is considered first, along with its relationship with employment characteristics and territorial location. An analysis of the territorial distribution, and its relationship with establishment downsizing and subcontracting, provides insights on the significance of lower costs and higher R&D intensity for small-scale operations. Statistical analyses of R&D intensity and performance variables that include labour skills, plant size, production costs, fixed capital assets, and profitability, with establishment-level survey data, provide important insights on the effects of subcontracting and any spatial differences resulting thereof.