PUBLICATIONS & REPORTS
PUBLICATIONS & REPORTS
From Kitakyushu to the world: AGI, a research institute that studies Asia's economy and society
From Followers to Market Leaders: Asian Electronics Firms in the Global Economy
| Author | Henry Wai-chung Yeung |
|---|---|
| Date of Publication | 2006. 9 |
| No. | 2006-16 |
| Download | 552KB |
Contents Introduction
This paper draws upon a large database of original data collected through personal interviews with top executives from almost 70 leading firms in the four Asian newly industrialized economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Focusing on the electronics industry, I aim to explain how a number of leading Asian electronics firms are articulated into global production networks and become major players in their respective market niches. Developing a triangular theoretical framework, I seek to explain the complex relationships between the dynamic articulation of these leading Asian electronics firms into different global production networks and their simultaneous upgrading from typical followers to market leaders. As a critique of the dominant developmental state discourse, I argue that the interplay between corporate strategies and home base advantages within the context of changing global production networks can offer a better explanation of the differentiated competitive outcomes of these Asian firms. I conclude the paper with some significant implications for theory and policy in relation to corporate development in Asian economies.