Hi-tech Industries Research Articles

Particle swarm optimization for bi-level pricing problems in supply chains

With rapid technological innovation and strong competition in hi-tech industries such as computer and communication organizations, the upstream component price and the downstream product cost usually decline significantly with time. As a result, an effective pricing supply chain model is very important. This paper first establishes two bi-level pricing models for pricing problems with the buyer and the vendor in a supply chain designated as the leader and the follower, respectively. A particle swarm optimization (PSO) based algorithm is developed to solve problems defined by these bi-level pricing models. Experiments illustrate that this PSO based algorithm can achieve a profit increase for buyers or vendors if they are treated as the leaders under some situations, compared with the existing methods.

Effect of relationship style on innovation performance

The purpose of this study is to analyze how different relationship styles of employees in the hi-tech industry influence innovation performance. This is helpful to understand whether the intimacy among employees in each relationship style has a positive effect on innovation performance. This study takes employees in the hi-tech industry as subjects and finds that the relationship style of an organization can effectively predict the innovation performance. Hence, an organization needs to establish and maintain the relationship among members, encourage high intimacy among them and increase their work efficiency to improve the innovation performance of the organization. This study presents the following management implications: (1) this study analyzes the effect of social activities on innovation performance from the viewpoint of employees. The result shows a positive outcome, indicating that managers of the hi-tech industry need to pay more attention to the intimacy among organizational members; (2) for the hi-tech industry, improving innovation performance within an organization can start with individual employees. The relationship of an employee with the organization, supervisor and colleague and, thus, the innovative performance of the organization can be improved via job rotation, implementation of the mentoring system, and role-playing activities. Key words: Relationship style, innovation performance, high-technical industry.

Model Predictive Control of a Cvd Reactor for Production of Polysilicon Rods

Production of polysilicon plays a key role in the development of hi-tech and renewable energy industry. Massive production is obtained by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in semi-batch reactors, traditionally called Siemens reactors, where silicon rods are grown. Following recent increase in market demand for polysilicon, a fine process control on industrial processes for improving production yield and reducing energy consumption is required. In this work, a technique for a real-time model-based predictive control applied to a laboratory-scale Siemens reactor is presented; a lumped model is used for describing the CVD process. Discussion is based on numerical results.

In-house R&D, technology purchase and innovation: empirical evidences from Chinese hi-tech industries, 1995-2004

We empirically estimated the effect of three types of investment in acquiring technological knowledge (in-house R&D, importing foreign technology and purchasing domestic technology) on the innovation output of Chinese firms in four hi-tech industries. These investments on technology are assumed to generate different types of knowledge, which in turn contribute to the enhancement of the technology capability of firms. Based on a dataset constructed from a panel of 30 regions over the ten year period of 1995-2004, we estimated an aggregated patent production function with the region-industry combination as units of analysis. Our results show that investing in foreign technology alone does not facilitate the introduction of innovation, unless it is coupled with a firm's own in-house R&D effort. Domestic technology purchases also favourably influence innovation, suggesting that firms have little difficulty in absorbing domestic technological knowledge. The relative importance of the three types of technological knowledge differs across industries.

The Influence of Innovation Management on New Product Development Performance in Taiwan�s Hi-Tech Industries*

The Influence of Innovation Management on New Product Development Performance in Taiwan�s Hi-Tech Industries*

Computer science issues in high school

Computer Science (CS) seems to be one of the few remaining disciplines almost entirely dominated by men, especially among university faculty and in the hi-tech industry. This phenomenon is prevalent throughout the western world. In Israel, we observed it in high schools where only 30% of the students who choose to major in CS are women. It continues in Israeli universities and colleges, where usually less than 30% of CS students are women. In this paper, we provide data describing the situation in Israeli high schools. In addition, we present a survey conducted among high school students which aimed, among other goals, to discover why girls did not choose to take CS in high school. We analyze the data and provide some conclusions and ways to deal with this situation.

An efficient replenishment model of deteriorating items for a supplier–buyer partnership in hi-tech industry

Due to rapid technological innovation and global competitiveness, the selling price of products in hi-tech industries usually declines significantly with time. This study develops a deteriorating inventory model for the product experiencing continuous decrease in unit price. This inventory model, from the perspective of supplier, proposes an efficient replenishment policy for a single-supplier-and-single-buyer supply chain in which the buyer conducts JIT through a realisation of multiple deliveries and the supplier performs one-time production. The objective of this model is, on the basis of the buyer's economic ordering decisions, to maximise the supplier's profit during a finite planning horizon and then to determine the optimal production cycle and product life cycle. A simple heuristic algorithm is developed to derive the optimal solution for the model. Numerical examples and sensitivity analyses confirm the performances of the proposed model and reveal some interesting managerial implications.

Stochastic operational planning model for production and distribution in a hi-tech manufacturing network

Hi-tech industries are complex in nature, offering a variety of products, shorter product life-cycles, volatile demand. Hi-tech manufacturers are forced to commit in advance to the customers the amount they can deliver by the specified due-date. In this work, we consider a single manufacturer and multi-assembler supply chain setting with multiple products, multi-period demand, learning rates etc. We develop a stochastic optimisation model, wherein underlying scenarios happen to be Mixed Integer Linear Programs. We solve the stochastic MILPs via by simulation of scenarios. Our focus is mainly on the multi-product ATP strategies that maximise the net profit of the manufacturer.

Venture capital dynamics, the public sector and the high technology industry

The high technology (hi-tech) sector has become an important factor for economic growth in many countries. Israel is an extreme case where most of the production of the hi-tech sector is exported, and moreover, comprises more than half of its industrial exports. In this study, we focused on the optimal funding of the public sector for the hi-tech industry in the presence of short-term, cyclical, venture capital funding. We addressed the first issue by constructing a decision-making model that results in the optimal governmental support for the hi-tech sector. For the latter issue, we constructed a model that accounts for the dynamics of the venture capital (VC) industry over 1995-2005. Our findings indicate that the VC industry is highly correlated with the NASDAQ composite stock index and that it is a supply-driven market. The optimal public sector's policy for funding the hi-tech sector should be anti-cyclical, dynamic and conditioned on the VC investments as well as on the specific sector that is supported. The models and their validation against empirical data are presented and discussed as well as the practical implications for policy and decision-makers.

High-Technology Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley Opportunities and Opportunity Costs

The economic expansion of the late 1990s undoubtedly created many opportunities for business creation in Silicon Valley, but the opportunity cost of starting a business was also high during this period because of the exceptionally tight labor market. A new measure of entrepreneurship derived from matching monthly files from the Current Population Survey (CPS) is used to provide the first test of the hypothesis that entrepreneurship rates were high in Silicon Valley during the Roaring 90s. Unlike previous measures of firm births based on large, nationally representative datasets, the new measure captures business creation at the individual-owner level, includes both employer and non-employer business starts, and focuses on only hi-tech industries. Estimates from the matched CPS data indicate that hi-tech entrepreneurship rates were lower in Silicon Valley than the rest of the United States during the period from January 1996 to February 2000. Controlling for the large concentration of immigrants and highly-educated workforce does not change the conclusion. Examining the post-boom period, we find that entrepreneurship rates in Silicon Valley increased from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. In contrast, trends in entrepreneurship rates in the United States were constant over this period. Although Silicon Valley may be an entrepreneurial location overall, the extremely tight labor market of the late 1990s, especially in hi-tech industries, may have suppressed business creation during this period.

Collaboration in tool development and capacity investments in high technology manufacturing networks

The procurement of capital intensive tools for hi-tech industries is one of the most complex tasks. Astronomical amounts of capital are invested in the processing equipment. Further, there is a large effort from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in customizing the high capital intensive equipment to suit their production process. This problem has received little attention from the quantitative decision making literature. For the first time we analyze the problem of OEM deciding on collaborating with the tool supplier via a special type of contract which we refer as “collaboration options”. We show that there are benefits to both the OEM and the tool suppliers from the collaboration. We develop a two-stage strategic model for collaborative tool development and optimal capacity investment. In the first stage, we solve an optimal collaboration problem faced by the OEM. We formulate this problem as a discrete time stochastic stopping problem for a finite horizon. We use a policy iteration algorithm for deciding on optimal collaboration policy. In the second stage, we model the optimal investment decision of the OEM in tool development and capacity acquisition using real options theory. Unlike the traditional options literature, we consider the option value determined from the first stage model and decide on the optimal amount for investment.

Once she makes it, she's there!: a case study1

Computer science is possibly one of the few remaining disciplines almost entirely dominated by men, especially university staff and in the hi-tech industries. This phenomenon prevails throughout the western world; in Israel it starts in high school, where only 30% of students who choose to take computer science as an elective are women, and continues in university and college, where usually less than 30% of the entire computer science student population is female. In this paper we present data describing women taking the undergraduate computer science program at the Open University of Israel. Covering a period of 10 years, we have examined the enrollment and results of thousands of students on 20 undergraduate computer science courses. An attempt has been made to identify whether there is a specific stage in the undergraduate program which is more difficult for women to pass. The good news is that within the Open University of Israel out of the entire population of computer science students the percentage of female enrolments and the percentage of females graduating is almost the same, and the differences in average final grade between men and women are generally not significant. This study is unique because of the large number of students which served as the study population, covering the entire undergraduate program.

VENTURE CAPITAL, THE PUBLIC SECTOR AND THE HIGH-TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY

We studied the optimal funding of the public sector for the Hi-Tech industry in the presence of short-term, cyclical, venture capital (VC) funding by constructing a decision-making model that results in the optimal governmental support and a model that accounts for the dynamics of the VC industry. We found that the VC industry is highly correlated with the NASDAQ stock index and that the optimal public policy for funding the Hi-Tech sector should be anti-cyclical, dynamic, and conditioned on the VC investments. The models and their validation are discussed as well as the practical implications for policy and decision makers.

The Impact of Globalization on Taiwan’s Hi-Tech Industry

The Impact of Globalization on Taiwan’s Hi-Tech Industry

Information sharing of value-adding retailer in a mixed channel hi-tech supply chain

Abstract The mixed channel model is becoming increasingly popular in the hi-tech industry where a firm, in addition to selling through the traditional supply chain of wholesaler and retailer, opens a direct channel to the customer through Internet sales. While the dual channel has its advantages, it gives rise to channel conflict. One way of alleviating the possibility of channel conflict is proposed in this paper where the retailer is allowed to add value to the product at a cost. A per unit value-adding cost is considered and any fixed upfront cost is not included. We model this mixed channel where the manufacturer, who is assumed to have more power than the retailer, makes decision on the price of the direct product and the wholesale price it charges the retailer. The retailer makes decision about the amount of the value added and the price of the augmented product. We also take into account the fact that the manufacturer may have only incomplete information about the retailer's cost of adding value. We present this model as a game between the two parties where the manufacturer acts as the leader. We obtain managerial insights into the dual-channel supply chain based on the analytical solutions. We compare the cases of complete and incomplete information and quantify the value of information to the manufacturer. In addition, we find that the retailer would be willing to share information with the manufacturer if her cost of adding value is lower than a threshold value. We report results of numerically obtained sensitivity analysis.

Intellectual Property: An Option to or Mechanism of Innovation in the ICT and Hi-Tech Industries

Since the middle ages, intellectual property has seen a varied trend from controversies to a relaxed attitude amongst not only the academia, but also within the practitioners. Currently, intellectual property has become an important element of international trade to the extent of being made a subject of a protocol to the GATT agreement. Clearly, this can be found in the mechanism of the WTO that ensures entry thereto and access to the 1st world markets under the GATT and GATTS treaties to be secured by the will of developing countries, especially; to accept the TRIPS and signatories being obliged to not only recognize, but also provide enforcement mechanisms once IPRs are not observed. Thus far, intellectual property could be said to be on its way to glory, however; the same could equally be true for its criticisms. From the ranges of ordinary technology to sophisticated information and communication systems, to biotechnology, name it. Faced with questions regarding its initial objective of rewarding innovation yet for the common good of society, arguments about controlling, and sharing IPRs only on terms are, ' . . . at the centre of our vision for ordered and stable civil societies'. A discussion of the IPRs that can be obtained and the procedures shall be made; juxtaposing them with the procedures for obtaining non ICT IPRs. The same shall be done for the hi-tech industry on life forms, before looking at the challenges facing intellectual property within both areas. Through this presentation, I argue that Intellectual property has not done enough to promote innovation, yet do I propose better ways to promote innovation through intellectual property. Finally, I consider the possible solutions that could create a harmonized play of intellectual property yet enhancing the development of ICT and other hi-tech innovations, before drawing conclusions on my findings.

Collaborative pricing and replenishment policy for hi-tech industry

Owing to rapid technological innovation and severe competition, the upstream component price and the downstream product cost of hi-tech industries like computers and communication consumer's products usually decline significantly with time. From a practical viewpoint, there is a need to develop a collaborative pricing and replenishing model with finite horizon when the vendor's purchase cost and the end-consumer's market price are reduced simultaneously. To entice collaboration, the vendor may offer some price discount to the buyer using a negotiation factor to balance the net profit for each player. A numerical example and sensitivity analysis are carried out to illustrate the model. Our results indicate that higher decline-rate in the vendor's purchase cost leads to a smaller vendor lot size, and the higher decline-rate in the market price leads to a larger buyer lot size. The percentage increase in the net profit is approximately 6.57% when cost/price reduction is considered. Therefore, it is significant to consider the effect of the cost/price reduction, especially in hi-tech industries.

Managing strategic and tactical constraints in the hi-tech industry

This paper addresses the issue of constraint management in the hi-tech industry, from the vantage point of the theory of constraints (TOC). First, we argue that the hi-tech industry faces a market constraint in operations, and resource constraints in both research and development (R&D) and marketing and sales (M&S). We then make the distinction between strategic and tactical constraints, and build a methodology to identify and manage them. While the TOC enables tactical treatment of the organization's internal resource constraints, we consider the prevailing constraint to be in the external business arena. In the short term, organizations apply the TOC methodology to increase their throughput, usually by focusing on the internal constraints. This is defined as tactical constraint management. In the long term, they navigate to position themselves in relation to the business arena's constraint. This is defined as strategic constraint management. In the paper we address the strategic dilemma of where the constraints should be in the hi-tech industry and how to reposition them there. In so doing, we bear in mind the relatively high frequency at which the hi-tech industry constraints change their position, and provide examples of disruptive change.

The effect of knowledge sharing model

Three elements - organizational structure characteristics, organizational culture, and interunit interaction - that affect knowledge sharing are raised in this study based on the structure of organization theories and the interaction among units of an organization. By carrying out empirical research on five hi-tech industries in Taiwan and verifying hypotheses with the non-linear fuzzy neural network model, this study finds that the lower the formalization of an organizational structure is, the greater the knowledge sharing among units of an organization will be, while the higher the complexity of an organizational structure is, the lower the knowledge sharing among units of an organization will be. Trust and commitment among units are important for facilitating knowledge sharing among units, and creative and supporting characteristics of organizational culture are beneficial for the implementation of knowledge sharing activities.

Science and technology manpower policy and an estimation of high tech manpower demand for the regional operation centre: the case of Taiwan

This paper has three main objectives. Firstly, it seeks to analyse the major trends in the development of Taiwan's hi-tech industries, and the supply and demand gap. Secondly, it examines the policies adopted by the government to address the shortage of hi-tech talent in Taiwan, by reforming the education system, strengthening on-the-job training, encouraging the recruitment of overseas talent and promoting the flow of talent between industry and academia. Thirdly, empirical analysis is undertaken to estimate labour demand deriving from the implementation of Taiwan's Regional Operation Center. The results of the empirical research show that, over the next three years, the shortage of manpower in the high tech sector will be most serious among companies in the electronics and electrical machinery industries. It is anticipated that engineers will be in particularly short supply, followed by senior technical personnel.