Taiwan's Information Technology Industry Research Articles

The influence of green supply chain integration and environmental uncertainty on green innovation in Taiwan's IT industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between green supply chain integration (GSCI) and green innovation and to analyze the moderating effects of environmental uncertainty.Design/methodology/approachA multi‐dimensional approach was employed to develop a comprehensive theoretical framework which encompasses various aspects of GSCI, green innovation and environmental uncertainty. To identify the effects of GSCI and environmental uncertainty on green innovation, hierarchical moderated regression analysis was applied using questionnaire data from 211 Taiwanese, information technology (IT) manufacturers.FindingsSupplier, customer and internal integration enhance both green product and process innovations. Demand uncertainty positively moderates each GSCI‐green innovation link. However, the moderating effect of technological uncertainty is insignificant.Research limitations/implicationsThis study conducted a cross‐sectional investigation of the Taiwanese IT industry. Therefore, it lacks the advantages of a longitudinal case study and its findings cannot be generalized to other industries.Practical implicationsThis study argues that, to improve green innovation performance, managers should endeavor to integrate resources and capabilities within their organizations, suppliers and customers. It also suggests that managers should constantly follow demand trends in the market and maintain tight technological networks among supply chain partners.Originality/valueThis study provides new insights into green supply chain management (GSCM) knowledge: theoretically creating GSCI‐green innovation links with the natural‐resource‐based view, and empirically demonstrating that effective green innovation requires multi‐dimensional GSCI. Furthermore, it develops a valid and reliable scale of environmental uncertainty for future research in GSCM, and presents the characteristics of implementing GSCI in Taiwan's IT industry.

Performance effects of IT capability, service process innovation, and the mediating role of customer service

Few academic studies have investigated how information technology (IT) capability and service process innovation can create performance gains for firms through customer service. We propose that customer service is a significant mediator through which IT capability and service process innovation influence the performance of a firm, and that IT capability is also a critical factor that facilitates service process innovation. Empirical support for our argument was derived from data collected from 174 firms in the Taiwan IT industry. The results suggest that managerial initiatives should be directed at developing IT capability and service process innovation and leveraging them to facilitate customer service to attain superior firm performance. Furthermore, greater IT capability would lead to a higher degree of service process innovation.

Upgrading through innovation in a small network economy: insights from Taiwan's IT industry

This paper analyzes the recent experience of Taiwan's information technology (IT) industry to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by a small economy that is deeply integrated into global networks of production and innovation. I introduce a conceptual framework to examine how specialization, learning (‘absorptive capacity’) and innovation enhance the potential for industrial upgrading. Finding the right balance between firm-level and industry-level upgrading and between domestic and international elements is a moving target and requires permanent adjustments to changes in markets and technology. Three findings distinguish this paper from prior work. First, absorptive capacity is critical for Taiwan's attempts to upgrade its IT industry through innovation. Second, Taiwanese firms now must increase R&D to avoid diminishing returns of network integration. Third, integration into diverse networks of production and innovation may well provide new lower-cost opportunities for ‘industrial upgrading through innovation’. ‘Technology diversification’, which combines incremental and architectural innovations, can serve as a complementary and arguably less costly option to ‘technology leadership’ strategies.

The incremental impact of intellectual capital on value creation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the validity of the Ohlson model and to explore the influence of intellectual capital (IC) on corporate value (V) and value creation (VC) in order to develop a business valuation model served as the managerial criterion of IC.Design/methodology/approachHypotheses are based on current research on the Ohlson model and IC. Descriptive statistics are used to find the data patterns. Information content and incremental information provided by various capital sources are validated through multiple and stepwise regression.FindingsCorporate value is measured by both IC and financial capital (FC). The Ohlson model with FC reveals information that is significant in corporate value. Besides, FC and IC – mainly, innovation and human capital – contains a great deal of incremental information in terms of V and VC.Research limitations/implicationsIn addition to financial statement, IC must be taken into account when intending to do business valuation.Practical implicationsTo create higher corporate value, corporations must actively place a high premium on their IC and manage it well, particularly for innovation and human capital.Originality/valueThis paper focuses on the information technology industry in Taiwan. It, respectively, uses the share price and price and book value models to represent V and VC. It cites the more complete four aspects of IC, which are referred to as “other information”, to combine IC and the Ohlson model.

Refreshing collaborative product development: a case study on Taiwan's IT industry

With the trend of keener competition nowadays, qualified Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) players must be able to take charge of product design and development and integrate value chain members, such as vendors and suppliers of key parts, to cowork seamlessly in Collaborative Product Development (CPD) processes. Therefore, this research aims to figure out why and how ODM players refresh CPD, so the authors chose an ODM player in Taiwan's Information Technology (IT) industry as the object of the case study. By means of expert interviews, panel discussions and participative observations lasting for a year, the authors penetrate into the dynamics and increase the understanding of CPD processes. The paper demonstrates the essences of refreshment such as the business model, the operations model and IT the model. Moreover, the CPD processes of RX150T are clearly exhibited so that the readers can clearly understand the scenario. Afterwards, the authors shed light on the issues and enablers, identify the Key Successful Factors (KSF) and summarise the positive effects. Such a case study wishes to provide insights for practitioners of CPD and be a useful referral for ODM players to adjust their implementation of CPD.

The effects of innovative capacity and capital expenditures on financial performance

The firms in the IT industry rely on innovation to create competitive advantages. As such, the efficiency of Research and Development (R&D) resources has become a key part in Taiwan's Information Technology (IT) industry. This research intends to explore the effects of innovative capabilities and capital expenditures on the business performance of IT manufacturers in Taiwan. This study examined 535 samples from the IT industry in Taiwan to seek the factors that affect innovation and competitive advantages. The results reveal that if capital expenditures are kept at the most appropriate scale, the boost of innovative capabilities may lead to a greater level of performance.

Making IT: The Rise of Asia in High Tech (review)

Reviewed by: Making IT: The Rise of Asia in High Tech Rudi Volti (bio) Making IT: The Rise of Asia in High Tech. Edited by Henry S. Rowen, Marguerite Gong Hancock, and William F. Miller. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2007. Pp. xviii+388. $30. The early twenty-first century is awash with IT (information technology) products manufactured in Asia. My situation is typical; without leaving my desk I was able to note that my cell phone had been made in Korea and the CD player originated in China, as did the keyboard and flat-panel display of my computer. I refrained from disassembling the computer, but it is likely that the disc drive came from Singapore and that the majority of its innards were produced in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea, while its operating system and applications probably were developed in part by Indian programmers. How all of this came about is detailed in Making IT: The Rise of Asia in High Tech. In narrating the causes of Asia's accomplishments,Making IT includes chapters covering Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, China, and India, while Japan gets two chapters and two appendixes. There is also an introductory chapter and separate chapters discussing the role of government, universities, and venture capital. The chapters covering individual countries pack in a lot of detail—more perhaps than many readers need or want to absorb. These can be slow going in places because, as with academic and business-press literature on IT, readers have to put up with a vast array of acronyms. Also, for those not intimately familiar with the international IT industry, the large number of individual firms cited in various parts of the text can be a distraction from the main narrative. After perhaps feeling a bit dazed by the plethora of information contained in these chapters, readers will appreciate the following ones that synthesize the country-by-country narratives. As these make evident, there has been a great deal of variation in the policies, strategies, and historical experiences of the countries, confirming a caution presented early in the book that "Those looking for an explicit model that accounts for how Asia rose will be disappointed" (p. x). Not only has a single model been absent, there have been marked divergences in the basic components of each country's IT strategies. For example, direct foreign investment was actively blocked for many years in India, Korea, and Japan, yet it has been an essential element in the development of IT industries in China, Singapore, and Taiwan. [End Page 481] There also has been considerable variation in the importance of venture capital and the strength of linkages between universities and IT firms. One of the most contentious issues in accounting for the success of the Asian IT industry has been the role of government. Here, again, there has been considerable variation. The simplest and safest generalization is that none of these countries has taken a laissez-faire approach. The only East Asian country whose government has remained largely passive has been Hong Kong, and not coincidentally Hong Kong has been an insignificant player in the IT industry. At the same time, however, governments have nurtured the development of their IT industries in their own way. To cite two examples, the Korean government provided a host of financial incentives so that well-established large firms (chaebol) could plunge headfirst into IT; in contrast, the development of Taiwan's IT industry has for the most part been the work of small and medium-sized firms, but many of them have benefited greatly from being located in the government-sponsored Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park. Whatever its sources, the overall success of the Asian IT industry is indisputable. Still, the question must be asked:Will Asian countries be able to take a leading role in the creation of IT in addition to developing and adapting technologies that originated elsewhere? This issue is most evident in Asia's most mature industrial economy, Japan, where entrenched large-scale firms have effectively developed and marketed incremental innovations, but have a mediocre record in regard to cutting-edge technologies. Other countries that have come later to the IT industry may not have...

A Human Capital-Driven Framework and the Role of Technological Capital in Measuring Intellectual Capital

This research applies a modified framework for measuring the value creation efficiency of business organization. Adapting the Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAICTM) Method, a model that emphasizes Human Capital as a primary driver for value creation is proposed and empirically tested. The role of Technological Capital, consists of R&D and intellectual property, is also examined. The study is conducted within the Information Technology Industry in Taiwan and data is generated from the annual reports of public listed firms covering a period from 2001 to 2007. The result finds Human Capital significant in arbitrating the relationship between market performance and various IC components. The paper adds a different perspective to research in Intellectual.

Product Innovativeness, Trade Show Strategy and Trade Show Performance

This study examines the effects of product innovativeness and trade show strategy on trade show performance. Based on a sample from the information technology industry in Taiwan, the results show that companies marketing innovative products focus on the trust and relationship building toward visitors and trade show organizers. In addition, information communication and relationship building strategies toward visitors affect perceived trade show performance. Finally, product innovativeness has a direct effect on perceived trade show performance in addition to the effect through trade show strategies.

Employee stock ownership and corporate R&D expenditures: evidence from Taiwan's information-technology industry

This study investigates how employee stock ownership affects corporate R&D expenditures for information-technology firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange during 1996–2001. The empirical results indicate a positive association between implementing employee stock ownership and R&D expenditures. The evidence thus supports the argument that employee stock ownership could help alleviate agency conflicts between employees and shareholders, and reduce agency costs, in turn enabling firms to make sizable R&D expenditures.

R&D and marketing integration in Taiwan's IT industry

Taiwan's IT (information technology) industry has achieved outstanding performance over the last two decades. However, no prior research had been dedicated to the NPD (new product development) project of Taiwan's IT industry. This study explored the actual R&D and marketing integration situation in Taiwanese IT firms. The results could be a good reference for those developing countries which are struggling to enhance their national competitiveness. This study found that the intangible perception of R&D-marketing integration has a higher impact on the actual achievement of integration than any other tangible integrating mechanism. Formalisation is the most effective tangible integrating mechanism to enhance R&D-marketing integration, because it clearly defined the NPD process. Joint reward system, informal social network, and job rotation significantly impact the actual achievement of R&D-marketing integration.

THE STUDY IN PROMOTION STRATEGY FOR ELECTRONIC BUSINESS OF TAIWAN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to explore the promotion strategy of industrial electronic business in Taiwan's information technology industry. By questionnaire survey, the research found the business strategic dimensions of introducing the electronic business are: (1) enhance the efficiency and service, (2) create the competitive advantage, and (3) maintain the business value system. The research also found the critical factors of the introducing the electronic business are: (1) information architecture and capacity, and (2) environment structure of electronic business. Finally, the research suggests the government should construct the well-defined investment conditions, law and technology standards and prompt the concept and technology framework of industrial electronic business.

Beyond the global production networks: a case of further upgrading of Taiwan's information technology industry

In the current literature on globalisation and economic development, the global production networks and global commodity/value chains perspectives highlight the importance of transnational organisational linkages as the conduit of technology transfer and knowledge diffusion, enabling manufacturers in the less developed economies to catch up by learning from lead firms in more developed countries. The institutional perspective, however, ascribes great importance to the role of public and semi-government institutions in facilitating active technology leveraging and knowledge diffusion. This paper uses the development of the information technology (IT) industry in Taiwan as a case to examine the two perspectives discussed. Global production networks were found to have played a pivotal role in the initial stage of the development of the IT industry in Taiwan. With the changing structure of the IT industry and emerging threat from low-cost competitors, the roles of the state and institutions were found to be increasingly important in overcoming barriers against the further upgrading of the industry concerned. It was concluded that the organisational and institutional approaches to globalisation and economic development are complementary to, rather than competing with, one another.

Global Production Networks and Information Technology: The Case of Taiwan

Recent developments have called into question the extent to which local agglomeration adequately encapsulates the dynamics of Taiwan's information technology industry. Under the pressure of globalization, global production networks have come to the fore of Taiwan's industrial strategy. By means of in-depth case studies on a PC and an IC firm, this paper sets to explore issues as to the Taiwanese firms' position within these global production networks and the way in which IT is used to facilitate the Taiwanese firms' participation in the global production networks. On balance, the use of IT in conjunction with the reshuffling of business models can help the Taiwanese firms to strengthen their position within the global production networks. In particular, the essence of IT application is to facilitate networked firms participating in setting the rules of the game for industrial competition, preferably in the international arena.