Description
Book SynopsisThe availability of industrial investment sites over the last two decades has lowered the cost of relocating core activities to new countries. But how should these developments be exploited for competitive advantage? This book examines how location decisions have contributed to the global dominance of U.S. firms in the hard disk drive industry.
Trade Review"A valuable resource for senior managers constantly seeking to improve their firms' competitive position."—Dirk R. Thomas, Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, IBM
"A thought-provoking examination of the factors that have influenced the disk-drive industry's global growth and evolution. The authors illustrate how indiustry leaders have used a variety of location strategies to gain a competitive edge."—Steve Luczo, CEO, Seagate Technologies
"Offers rich new insights into the dynamics of one of Silicon Valley's least understood but most innovative sectors. Policy makers and business leaders will learn much about technology, geography, and globalization from this sophisticated analysis."—AnnaLee Saxenian, author of
Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128"This volume reports the findings of an impressive research effort designed to identify the location strategies that have allowed US firms to maintain dominant positions within the international disk-drive industry. . . . This excellent book will be of interest to managers, policy makers, and academicians alike."—
Choice"An authoritative and comprehensive analysis . . . the breadth of research promises to make this the reference book for hard disk drives. . . . The case study itself will provide substantial fodder for debates on the globalization of high-technology manufacturing, development policy, firm strategy, and competitive advantage."—
Enterprise and Society"Suggestively medling an appreciation of organizational capabilities and local network effects with a deep understanding of national development policies, this book has implications far beyond the disk-drive industry. Its interdisciplinary perspective provides a fascinating framework for comprehending the dynamics of globalization during the last quarter of a century. The book amply demonstrates the rich potential of centers funded by the Sloan Foundation to foster distinctive cross-disciplinary research on industry."—
Business History Review"[The Editors'] research will force a rethinking of much of the contemporary thinking about globalisation."—
Business History"In contrast to the typical discipline-bound analyses that over-emphasise either economic or political actors, this book captures the subtlety of their interaction. I can think of few books that have done as well at elucidating this process."—
Business History"This book is meticulously researched, well written and theoretically sophisticated."—
Business History"This book is a stellar example of how conclusions drawn from institutional economics, geography, and political analysis can be synthesized to provide powerful insights into the behaviour of governments and firms. For those interested in the interaction of corporate functions across national boundaries or the organisation of value chains in high-technology industries, this book is must read."—
Business HistoryTable of ContentsList of figures List of tables List of disk drive related abbreviations Acknowledgments Part I. Introduction: 1. Why location matters 2. Industry background: technology, competition, and geographic reach Part II. Location and Competitive Advantage: 3. A theory of industry evolution, location, and competitive advantage 4. Alternative explanations for industry advangage 5. Global shift and competitiveness in hard disk drives 6. Leveraging locations: American industry and its southeast Asian production system Part III. Case Studies: 7. Singapore With Poh Kam Wong 8. Thailand 9. Malaysia Part IV. Implications: 10. Policy, politics, and location in developing countries 11. Globalization and industrial leadership Appendixes Notes References Index.
