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The microelectronics industry is truly global and continues to
transform in major areas of technology, markets and the migration
of activities to lower cost regions. In the UK, the vertically integrated
“national champions” that were characteristic of the
twentieth century have all gone and they have been replaced with
a new breed of smaller, more agile and specialised companies. The
UK’s domestic industry displays mixed fortunes as globalisation
and changing markets pose a great many challenges for these new
firms and it is apparent that strategic alliances can provide utility
as part of a strategic response to the changing conditions.
The research objectives of this exploratory study sought to understand
how the UK’s emergent and transformational domestic microelectronics
sector:
1. Perceive strategic alliances
2. How alliances are formed within the study group
3. How these alliances are managed, measured and assessed
4. What factors, if any, help to explain the differing fortunes
of firms within the study group
The qualitative research method used semi-structured, in-depth
respondent interviews to collect a rich and detailed set of data
from industry professionals that have instigated, managed or have
further insights into alliance practice.
The study found that participants used a distorted definition of
strategic alliances and preferred to use the term “partners”.
Partners are endemic on both the supply and demand sides of all
participant firms’ businesses. Although the individual context
of a firms business is significant, the utilisation of partnerships
on the demand (market) side helps to explain the differences in
fortune between the performers and the under-performers. The collaborative
model is highly relevant for UK firms and the concepts of open innovation
and open business models help to understand the transformation currently
underway. The study concludes that implementing a company wide partnering
strategy will help firms improve and sustain their commercial performances.
Member companies of NMI can download this report by logging into
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and comes in hardcopy and electronic format.
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