Foreign Outsourcing of the U.S. Electronics Industry
Abstract
During the 1970's and 1980's, there was a significant loss of US electronic manufacturing capability to off shore locations particularly in Asia. There has been considerable literature devoted to the macroeconomic factors written over the last few years. This paper examines some of the industry dynamics and microeconomic factors which contributed as much as the macroeconomic factors to the off-shore migration of manufacturing. The electronics industry continues to demonstrate significant growth and profitability and its long term growth prospects are enormous. However, US firms have exhibited corporate strategies, structures and decision processes which have made them less competitive than their global competitors. This lack of competitiveness became obvious to even the casual observer during the 1980's. Industry has begun to respond with a management renaissance of initiatives such as Total Quality Management, Just-in Time inventory techniques, and others. However, much more remains to be done in the areas of long-term corporate strategy and decision support systems. Recent indications are that the industry's efforts have begun to achieve improved competitiveness.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA276563
Entities
People
- Andrew J. Fallon
Organizations
- Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy