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Economics Of R&D Specialization In The Semiconductor Industry, Kyun Kim

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Starting in the 1970s, specialized suppliers have entered the semiconductor industry to supply capital equipment, or tools, used in semiconductor manufacturing to downstream semiconductor companies. After the entry of these external suppliers, semiconductor chip producers began to rely in varying degrees on them for the R&D to improve the quality of capital equipment, while they themselves began to focus on design and production of chips. In my dissertation, I conduct an empirical and theoretical investigation to support my hypothesis that the difference in R&D incentives between the upstream suppliers and downstream chip manufacturers was the important reason for the emergence …