How much of Raymond Vernon's product cycle thesis is still relevant today: evidence from the integrated circuits industry Online publication date: Mon, 21-Jan-2019
by Rajah Rasiah; Xiao-Shan Yap
International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development (IJTLID), Vol. 11, No. 1, 2019
Abstract: Vernon's product cycle thesis has increasingly been questioned as industries experienced differentiation and dispersal of production stages, while the need for proximity for interactions to take place between scientists and engineers, and consumers ended following the introduction of computerised inventory and production, and planning systems. This paper re-examines this thesis using the integrated circuits (IC) industry. The results show that IC multi-nationals have continued to retain frontier R&D and wafer fabrication activities at locations endowed with strong human capital and research centers. However, IC firms are attracted to relocate frontier R&D activities in distant host-sites, such as USA, Japan, Spain, Germany, Russia and Israel that are endowed with sophisticated science, technology and innovation infrastructure, and scientists and engineers. Also, IC manufacturing is too knowledge-intensive to be attracted to the least developed countries.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development (IJTLID):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook