Managing economic and technological competitiveness in the US semiconductor industry: short and long-term strategies

In: International Journal of Technology Management
The US semiconductor industry has been losing ground to the Japanese industry in the international market. Swift advances in Japanese economic and technological competitiveness have generated fears for the future of US manufacturers of chips. The USA is being forced to look for ways to counteract the present trends and, effectively, to manage the short– and long–term economic and technological development of the industry. In the short–term. defensive measures are being implemented which centre on the US–Japan chip agreement. In the longer term, Americans are betting on a military–backed programme aimed at wiping out the lead Japan has in semiconductor manufacturing technology. The involvement of the military in the international economic context of the 1980s raises several problems for the development of the US semiconductor industry. It remains to be seen whether the success of the military–backed semiconductor development of the 1950s and 1960s can be repeated.