The effects of Taiwan's state-industrial arrangements on international competitiveness : the case of notebook-sized computer and high-definition television industry

This thesis aims at testing Hart's theoretical model -- the effects of state- societal arrangements on international competitiveness, by applying it to Taiwan's situation in the 1990s through two empirical studies, namely, the public-private collaboration in the innovation process of NPC and HDTV industries. It is argued that the authoritarian explanation of the developmental state does not accord with the transitions that have had happened in Taiwan in the relation between the state and industry concerning the issues of promoting technology development in the emerging industries. More international and technological considerations need to be incorporated into the developmentalist analysis. Moreover, the state alone is inefficient in moving industrial development without active participation from the industrial sector. Under circumstances of fierce international competition, rapid technological changes, and heavy physical and human investment for innovation, an innovative arrangement is called for in which the state actors and industry can cooperate and associate. The research findings suggest that a new type of institutional arrangement has emerged in the innovation process through collaboration between the public and private sector in both NPC and HDTV industries which has had a substantial impact on international competitiveness. Jhe NPC Alliance demonstrates an initial case of coupling the public sector research institute with the industrial sector in terms of R&D for a new industrial product, while HDTV consortia-complexes modelling the NPC example shows an extensive adaptation to bring this kind of institutional advantage for the revitalisation of declining consumer electronics industries. It arrives at the conclusion that Taiwan’s state-industrial arrangement in the 1990 characterised as the institutionalised strategic partnership (ISP), a reciprocal institution based on industrial policy-driven cooperation with prudent definition by the state. ISP, a new form of industrial governance, combines state-defined policy and an implementation network of state-industrial cooperation which differs from the conception of onesided interventionist governance and purely free market solutions. The theoretical application of Hart's model to Taiwan's current situation is appropriate. Taiwan fits into his model in the position of the state-business coalition side which is assumed to be a more competitive arrangement than in the position of the state vertex. State-Societal arrangements have been an endogenous and institutional factor which forms a necessary part of the explanation and understanding of the promotion of international competitiveness. Institutional arrangements should be evolved to cope with changes in order to create institutional advantages rather than be subject to environmental constraints

The mixed experience of achieving business benefit from the internet : a multi-disciplinary study

From 1995 the Internet attracted commercial investment, but financially measurable benefits and competitive advantage proved elusive. Usage for personal communication and business information only slowly translated into commercial transactions. This reflects a unique feature of Internet development. Unlike other media of the 19th and 20th centuries, widespread Internet use preceded commercial investment. The early military and research use led to an architecture that poorly supported the certainty and security requirements of commercial transactions. Subsequent attempts to align this architecture with commercial transactional requirements were expensive and mostly unsuccessful. This multi-disciplinary thesis describes these commercial factors from historical, usage, technical, regulatory and commercial perspectives. It provides a new and balanced understanding in a subject area dominated by poor communication between separate perspectives