14
'
(
ALFRED
P.
WORKING PAPER
SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
Technology Strategies In National Context
and National Programs in Taiwan
Jong-Tsong Chiang
July 1987
WP 1927-67
MASSACHUSETTS
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
50 MEMORIAL DRIVE
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02139
NOV 12 1987
.
Technology Strategies In National Context
and National Progranns in Taiwan
Jong-Tsong Chiang
WP 1927-87
July 1987
1
2.
PhD candidate
The author
is a
This paper
is to be
in
Management
of Technological Innovation.
published in TechnoJogy in Society, Vol.
X, no. 2,
1988.
'•T.
NOV
UBiiARiES
1
2 1987
Abstract
Three patterns of technology strategy exemplified by the
US
(the innovator),
Japan (the first follower) and Taiwan (the second follower) are compared
this paper.
In
an innovator country, the innovative small firms or entities
constitute the essential part of various types of technology strategies.
contrast, in a follower country the
catch up, thus
government
in
justifying
the
By
more identifiable development goals and
smaller R&D reservoir make concerted efforts more desirable
to
in
much greater
in the
large
role of
struggle
firms and
technology development.
For follower countries to produce national efforts, national programs
of
some strategic technologies aiming
the reasonable alternatives.
at
commercial applications are among
Because of scarce information and available
research thus far, Taiwan's eight national programs, launched around 1960,
provide
good
a
arena
understanding
for
managerial determinants.
the
requisite
contextual
and
With special emphasis on the implications from
different technologies, this study investigates the relevant institutional
adjustments, and the R&D to commercial applications and technical service
in
these programs.
At
the
national
level,
Taiwan's
experience
suggests
several
key
conditions, including "national champion" and overall development plan for
these national programs.
At the program level, the most challenging are
interfacing issues such as the distribution of upstream ond downstream
R&D
resources, the balance of large-scale process technology and plural product
design, the
inter-organizational
transfer of highly complex
and dynamic
technology, the cooperation between R&D, technical service, and managerial
service
functions,
etc.
Taiwan's
experience
also
shows
that
these
large-scale endeavors can give great impetus to the upgrading of government
technology
administration,
major
R&D
1
institutions,
and
the
overall
development fremework.
In all,
these progranris help turn the previous loose
and "supply side" development pattern into a more focused and "demand side"
one.
These lessons may also apply
countries.
to
many other technology follower
Contents
I.
Introduction 4
M. Different Patterns of
Technology Strategy
in Innovator
and Follower Countries 4
III.
Special Importance and Institutional Challenges to
Follower Countries 8
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIM
IX.
X.
XI.
The Emergence of National Programs
in
Taiwan 10
Institutional Arrangements for National Programs
R&D and Commercial Applications
in
National Programs
Technical Service in National Programs
15
Administrative Challenges by National Program
Challenges to Large R&D Institutes
Exhibits
22
References 30
16
17
Challenges to Overall Development Framework
Implications 20
12
19
13
I.
Introduction
Despite the constant precautions ogolnst myopic pollticQl Involvement in
steering science and technology
189-190),
1982:
development
governments
after the
and
to
two
(S^>.T)
impacts
increasing
the
development (Wenk, 1979; Freeman,
of
competition
international
have
expand their roles especially
shocks
oil
in
1970s.
the
S6J
in
on
socio-economic
caused
recently
many
newly emerging fields and
Exhibit
1,
by exemplifying the
different levels of disciplines and impact of applications, presents a holistic
perspective about S&T.
driving forces
Exhibit 2, on the other hand, identifies the main
nowadays for more government's participation
national policies and strategies.
These two Illustrations clearly point out
the need of a more concerted effort in modern
Exhibits
Due to
development
the
differences
and
goals,
so
in
terms of
in
1
S&T development.
and 2 here.
economic system. Industrial structure,
forth,
however,
the
extent
and
forms
of
government Involvement and outcomes vary greatly over time and across
sectors
and
countries
Generally
speaking,
governments
countries" are expected to play more pivotal roles in
in
"follower
S&T development than
their counterparts in the technologically advanced countries. The underlying
reasons
for
this
are
at
least
two-fold.
One
Is
the
much
weaker
infrastructure and fewer resources in these countries which call for the
government to take
a
Is the belief that the
and pattern of
II.
more active role and make heavier investment. Another
market forces alone cannot lead to the desired speed
^T development.
Different Patterns of Technology Strategy in Innovator and
Follower Countries
As far as technology strategy
level con be recognized
is
concerned, some patterns at the country
Three countries token for comporison, the
Japan and Taiwan, approxinnately represent the innovator, the first
U.S.,
follovv'er
and the second follov/er, respectively.
In
the
U.S.,
there exists the world's most favorable environment for
entrepreneurship.
More precisely, this country
provides several
unique
conditions for small innovative firms; the affluent availability of venture
capital, an efficient and favorable financial
market for new firms, and the
traditional supportive societal values and attitudes,
University Center for Entrepreneurial Studies,
even claim that this entrepreneurship
U.S.
is
among others (New York
Some people
1964: 9-17).
primarily a
U.S.
phenomenon and the
has significant competitive advantage based on this unique character
over its major economic competitors
(e.g.,
Drucker,
1985:
1-3;
University Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, 1984: 17-19).
this
country,
small
no-less-prominent
large
firms.
The
innovative
position,
striking
firms
particularly
have
in
contributions
been
long
product
York
a result, in
maintaining
innovation,
small
of
As
New
firms
to
than
321-323).
1964:
11-12, 91-98
&
the
new
the
biotechnology and information industries are just two recent examples
Congress Office of Technology Assessment,
a
(U.S.
1985:
Strategic alliances with small firms and internal ventures to
encourage "intrapreneurship" are among many large firms' crucial strategies
(
Doz, et
al.,
1985; Roberts, 1986).
Technological joint forces, no matter
whether they are mainly initiated by federal or state governments, industry,
or universities, usually include
many small- and medium-sized high-tech
companies
(U.S.
as
principal
actors
Dimancescu and Botkin, 1986)
National
Science
Meanwhile, except
areas, government Is rather restrained from too
in
Foundation,
1983;
military and aerospace
much involvement
in
the
later stages of Innovation process.
In
contrast with the
U.S.,
Japan's government had to take the lead in
catching up with the Western countries, beginning the Meiji Restoration.
companies
Several
were assigned major responsibilities
resources by the government
in the
basic and strategic industries.
companies were close comrades
and
very beginning for efficiently developing
fact, nearly all the founders of these
(In
of the first generation leaders in the Meiji
Government during the previous anti-Tokugawa movement.)
strategy,
up
many
import
help
to
public
R&D laboratories and
and
allocated
adapt
Based on this
were set
technical organizations
foreign
technology,
and
the
several
government-selected companies later became the so-called "Sogo Shosha" or
"Zaibatsu," and stood out as the
industrial
shown
As
a
R&D
new centers
technology transfer and
The technology transfer mechanisms
(Chiang, 1984: 55-85).
in Exhibit
of
3 briefly illustrates this history (Saito, 1979: 630-640).
consequence, small- and medium-sized companies were unable to
acquire comparable resources to compete economically and technologically
with the privileged large firms. This
industrial structure,' with small and
medium enterprises representing
backward sector. Though the situation has changed
the
Japan's so-called "dual
is the origin of
the
a little, especially since
1970s, mainly due to the emergence of many opportunities stemming
from new technologies, Japan presently
firms
(in
still relies
overwhelmingly on large
commercial technology) and government institutes
fundamental technology), rather than on small firms.
either
pushed
government
national
R&D
within
with
large
industrial
participation
laboratories.
from
groups/firms
these
The innovation
Big
or
(in generic or
R&D projects
are
coordinated
by
companies
large
and
major
of this latter type is represented
by the well-known VLSI program (Sakakibara, 1983), the subsequent Fifth
Generation Computer Program and other national
industries (Japan Long-Term Credit Bank: 1983).
programs
in
high-tech
This strategy has, so
far,
achieved tremendous success, mostly in process innovation, and has made
Japan the
no.
1
technological competitor to the U.S. in
many non-military and
non-aerospace fields.
Exhibit 3 here.
Taiwan, a newly industrialized country and evaluated as between
"classic industrialized countries" and
some special
the past
features.
Like Japan,
few decades
to
"classic developing countries/ has
Taiwan has adopted industrial policy for
nurture
strategic industries.
But
it
has not
encouraged the growth of big private enterprises. So its industrial structure
follows Japan's track and is similar to South Korea's, but its industrial
concentration
degree
lower
far
is
medium-sized enterprises are
its
than
South
main forces.
Small-
Korea's.
In
commercial technology,
importation and imitation have long been the main strategies. Except
agricultural field, government-sponsored
and
R&D has had
little
in the
impact on local
industries, and local industries have not generally looked to universities or
technical
public
organizations
Accordingly, Taiwan as
technological
a
innovation
for
assistance
whole has
and
an
a
(Chiang,
private
sector that
"industry-disconnected"
168-173).
1980:
is
weak
in
R&D community.
Under these circumstances, when the government decides to strengthen
domestic technological capabilities, Taiwan has to rely most on public
applied
R&D
institutions first, and emphasize the interactions between these
institutes and industry.
In reality,
this strategy is exactly the
same as
that
pursued by the several so-called "national strategic programs" which were
started In the late 1970s.
Despite the limitations of their representation, these three countries'
different loci suggest
•
For
an
some important implications, such
innovator
country like
the
U.S.,
innovative
medium-sized firms are crucial for the exploration
Except
in the
as:
of
new
small-
and
opportunities.
military and aerospace areas which require a government's
direct
leadership,
government's
role
is
primarily
for
provision
the
of
S&T
entrepreneurial environments and the support of fundamentol R6^D and
education.
• For follower countries, more concerted efforts are justified because
their
development
government alone,
more
or
less
government and big
Therefore,
"forerunners."
are
targets
"demonstrated"
firms
(as
in
the
by
Japan),
or
large firms are not strong enough (as in Taiwan) will
if
take the lead in technology development.
Exhibit 4
summarizes the technology strategies
in the U.S.,
Japan and
Taiwan, as mentioned above.
Exhibit 4 here.
III.
Special Importance and Institutional Challenges of National
Programs to Follower Countries
For
concerted efforts
programs
of
is at
national
the
at
one extreme.
innovation
national
level,
At the other extreme
process,
including
the
technology and applications, which is rooted
government-academe-industry
In
advanced
the
countries,
in
initiation
is the
n ational
of
general framework
integration
science,
of
the interactions
of
the
triad.
the
framework
general
is
also
normally
advanced.
So for national programs, fundamental institutional restructuring
is usually
unnecessary
For follower countries, however, national programs
aiming at commercial applications usually induce the necessity to upgrade
the
original
loosely
linked
systems concurrently.
countries, the managerial challenge
se,
Therefore,
in
these
comes not only from the programs per
but also from the institutional framework.
Furthermore,
if
a
follower country
8
intends
to
participate
in
the
current
new technology
fields through national programs, their far smaller
domestic R&D reservoir may constitute a big constraint.
national programs will very probably
demand
Meanwhile, these
a far larger share of resources
than those in advanced countries, making the stake of national programs to
follower countries incredibly large
/^OC's Science
to its
Take Taiwan as an example. According
and Technology Annual Report, }986, Taiwan's
45^
national programs in 1984 accounted for
of national
R&D
eight
R&D budget and 39%
of national
personnel.
For the previously discussed reasons, national technological programs
And
as a national strategy are of special criticality to follower countries.
understanding
the
managerial
determinants
thus
becomes
extremely
important.
The overall and generalizable patterns of management of national
programs, however, are
number
of
is limited;
U.S.
still
"underdeveloped" and fragmented to date.
The
comprehensive case studies about advanced countries' experience
high failure rates outside the military and aerospace fields in the
and Europe were reported (Horwitch, 1964; Fox, 1983; Holland, 1974);
and little attention has been paid to follower countries. For these programs,
even
the
relatively
well-established
discipline
of
project
cannot directly apply because its overly normative style
management
not always
is
compatible with the very fluid R&D activities and market efforts
major components
in
Innovation,"
"macro-engineering"
infrastructural
1984).
The lack
two
these "new" programs.
These programs belong to what Horwitch and Pralahad
Three
~ the
(1976)
and
are
predecessors, such
projects
(Davidson,
fairly
as
1979,
different
Polaris,
call
"Model
from
their
Apollo and
physical
1984; Kozmetsky,
1986; Hull,
of relevant managerial lessons for these
programs
is
made
even more apparent by a recent study published by
U.S.
Congress Office of
Technology Assessment on information technology
~
one of the highest
national priorities in
most countries after the 1970s.
this report, several
In
notional and international programs in Japan and Europe
were investigated,
but reservations v/ere expressed because these programs
were
still
too
new
to determine their success, and the specific designs tailored to individual
countries' unique contexts might not necessarily constitute useful models
for other countries
(
1
985).
Based on the findings
in
advanced countries and on the consideration of
follower countries' far weaker capabilities and less
the
experience
in
managing large-scale projects, these multi-sectoral multi-organizational
national
programs may look
like
an insurmountable
challenge
useful
if
lessons cannot be generated soon enough from more empirical studies.
this
reason,
Taiwan's
experience
typological sense, can help shed
countries
IV.
if
they share
In
some
strategic
national
light on this topic for
in
a
many follower
Taiwan
Before the mid-1970s, Taiwan's S&T development was,
and
in
some Important similarities with Taiwan.
The Emergence of National Programs
input-oriented,
programs,
For
vague
In
development
in
objectives
between the S£;T community and industry was very
essence, diverse,
The
loose.
connection
The lack
of
assessment criteria also prevented the formation of large RS^D projects, and
resulted in an Incremental decision pattern in resource allocation.
In
the government system, the National Science Steering Committee
within the President's National Security Council and the National Science
Council under the Premier were supposed to be the
two leading agencies. The
former, however, seemed too high In position, and its advisory function
diluted by other
(relative to
more urgent
issues.
The latter could only use
most other ministries') funds
was
Its small
to support fundamental
R&D
in
universities and several research centers, and did not possess real influence
on
many much larger projects sponsored and administered by other agencies.
10
Additionally, most of the high-ranking leaders in these
came from
academic
the
in
were not familiar with the
and
So the typical approach concerning S&T was to increase
application world.
investment
community,
two organizations
R&D, the underlying rationale was for long-term development;
ond the last shield was the cultivation of human resources.
This situation lasted until the 1970s, when several important factors
added up to compel S&T development
in
Taiwan
to get into the next stage;
they were:
• The skyrocketing prices of energy and many raw materials forced
Taiwan's economy to undertake structural change
that
78^
of energy
consumption was based on
(in 1977), its local
This was due to the fact
oil of
which 98^ was imported
food supply could only meet half the demand, and
it
was
almost devoid of any important natural resources for industries. Therefore,
to increase the value-added in this extremely international-trade-dependent
was
island
amount
of
an emergency.
capital,
Technology, not the quantity of labor nor the
became the
thus
development had to rely
no.
Taiwan's
factor
1
economic
on.
• Many traditional industries quickly lost their relative advantage in
the
1970s, and new industries could not get easy access to new foreign
technologies
as
became urgently needed
• Many
Accordingly,
before.
in
many
new technologies emerging
theory of
technological
support
fields.
present a very promising future.
Kondratieff's
indigenous
in
advanced countries seemed to
To take part
in this
new
macro innovation cycles became
era predicted by
a
new
national
aspiration.
In
this
"new technology movement,"
K.T.
Li
~
a
senior minister
without portfolio but with brilliant earlier records as Finance Minister and
Economic Minister, among others -- was asked by the then Premier to take
charge of S&T development
in the
government.
11
Li,
often referred to as "the
father
of
Taiwan's
economic
development/'
throughout the country and great influence
in
had
very
reputation
fine
the government system.
advanced science education and research background (he was
a
His
graduate
student under a British Nobel Laureate in England about fifty years ago),
professorship
in
modern physics and economics, and constant concern about
modern S&J also made him an acquaintance
S&.T community.
from
industry
community and,
of
most members
of the local
These qualifications made him an authoritative spokesman
government
and
at the
sectors
same time,
a
who could
comrade
challenge
the
S&T
community who
of the S&.T
could acquire more resources, at least from the government. He thus became
a powerful interfacing and integrating leader in national
S&J development.
Under his direction, many important policies and measures concerning the
overall
S&T framework were adopted, and
the national strategic programs
were launched around 1980.
V.
Institutional Arrangements for National Programs
Taiwan's
national
strategic programs
centered
on
eight
fields:
energy,
automation, information, materials, biotechnology, electro-optics, hepatitis
B control and food.
Except for the last two, the purposes of the programs
could be generally inferred by studying the courses taken by the advanced
countries.
The Initiation
of the hepatitis B control
program was decided upon
because hepatitis B was a common chronic disease
in
Chinese society, while
the understanding of the viral, pathological and transmission mechanisms,
and the prevention and treatment were
that food technology
was included was
political consideration
resource
allocation
still at a
to
primitive stage. The reason
said to be based,
more or
less, on
which meant to assure the minimum attention and
the
agricultural
remarkably historical records.
12
and
food
R&D community with
Since these programs were not short-term or one-shot efforts, many
new
Institutional arrangements
were required.
addition to summoning the
In
national S6^T meeting for the first time in 1978 to declare the
new
national
emphasis on S&J, two small offices. Applied Technology R&D Group and
Science
and
Technology
Advisory
Group
sometimes
(both
regarded
as
equivalent to each other), under Li's leadership, were set up for the Premier
nationwide
coordinate
to
programs.
each
In
ministry,
a
Science
and
Technology Advisory Office was also established for ministry-wide affairs.
several
Besides,
prominent
leaders
foreign
community and high-tech industry were invited
the
In
to be the
international
SSJ advisors
Premier, and were honored as Minister-equivalent guests.
advisors
were
a
Vice
President
IBM,
of
the
to the
Among these
Chairman
late
S&.T
of
Texas
Instruments, the former French Minister of Industrial R&D, the President of
the Illinois Institute of Technology, the former Chairman of the U.S. National
Academy
of Sciences, and the Vice
Chairman
of
TRW.
These advisors gave
suggestions regarding broad policy as well as specific R6^D issues, promoted
International cooperation, and helped converge the normally diverse opinions
In
S&T development. They,
therefore, directly and indirectly strengthened
the national strategic programs.
With the active partlcipationof this group
and of local leaders. Science and Technology Advisory General Meetings were
held twice a year.
These mechanisms became the most important regular
forums for national opinion exchange,
openly
discussed.
Internationally
participants through their
VI.
R&.D and
own
in
which many ideas were raised,
compared,
and
then
executed
by
the
organizations.
Commercial Applications
in National
Programs
Aside from the financial function and education and training sector, each
national program had a limited
as
more
fragmented
and
number
of large-scale
R&D
projects, as well
custom-made technical services
13
of
different
weights, oriented toward related industries.
Regording R6^D for commerciol opplicotions, the serious bottleneck
the development phase of material-related technologies
weakness was found
and
great
to be due to the industrial
difficulties
imitating
in
backward integration history
phase was not strong enough to capitalize on the
of
the
new
foreign
So the stock of local capabilities
commercial chemical processes.
In
was exposed. This
reverse-engineering
or
in
in this
R&D achievements.
initial
fields, such os biotechnology and electro-optics, the ovoilobility
appropriate
and
expertise
the
match
upstream
of
downstream
and
technologies were questionable. Little performance could be expected before
some
"critical
mass" was accumulated, and the unbalanced distribution
R&D resources was
In
of
rectified.
selecting topics for R&D, the world market convergence of personal
computer
models
and
the
rather
predictable
technology
trend
of
the
Integrated circuit helped focus the information program and facilitate the
collaboration from public and private sectors.
In
the automation program,
the diverse industrial needs and the requirement to adapt to
contexts
application
made
the
decision-making
many
very
different
difficult.
"Product-function-pursued" materials R&D faced much more uncertainty and
risk
than
"process-centered"
(and
"product-composition-mostly-fixed")
biotechnology R&D.
When inter-organizational
technology
transfer
unstable relations caused enormous problems to donor
was
R&D
involved,
the
laboratories and
receiver commercial enterprises in highly complex and rapidly progressing
technologies.
The deep commitment
to technology transfer required by the
former and the dependence on the former by the latter for subsequent
generation technologies incurred tremendous switching costs to both.
history from three-inch
CMOS wafer's 4 K DRAM
IC to
The
six-inch wafer's 256K
and 1M ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) in Taiwan shows the
M
dramallc series of events inherent
pattern of technology transfer.
in this
When the process technology
is
enormous
in scale, but the
product
design needs to be kept entrepreneurially active in private small entities,
what should the national strategy be? And how can the balance be attained
at
Taiwan's government decided to invest
in
the business and national levels?
the large IC manufacturing technology, and encouraged numerous local and
foreign design houses to utilize its process capacity. The ultimate outcome
of this strategy still
a
new option
VII.
remains to be seen, but this unique choice has provided
for other countries facing similar dilemmas.
Technical Service in National Progranrjs
Few organizations
technical service,
these national programs had satisfactory records
in
For most R6.D institutions, technical service
.
considered really challenging or "high-end."
In
was
in
not
the meantime, most people in
these Institutions lacked the necessary industrial experience to diagnose and
solve the
showed
problems
field
in
an integrated
manner.
Taiwan's experience
that, in order to strengthen technical service, specific task forces --
independent
RS^D organizations
of
industrial backgrounds
and led by strong leaders with solid
— were desirable.
Nevertheless, independent technical service teams,
busy
in the field,
might become "burned out" over time.
In
if
successful and
Taiwan, the local
industries that these task forces served were mainly not the leading ones
and the problems that they tackled not advanced in a technical sense. So the
technical service people's basic capabilities would reach a saturation point
sooner or later.
technical
service
On the
R&D organizations without strong
other side,
functions
from
suffered
insufficient
industrial
and
marketing information.
Still
non-technical
many
industrial
or managerial
technical
issues.
problems
were entangled with
Examples included energy auditing
15
system
in
energy conservation projects, and production management, quality
control, etc. in outomotion service.
By comparing the outcomes from the different degrees of cooperation
between R&D, technical service, and managerial service entities
Taiwan's
in
automation program, the following arguments are generally confirmed;
• The technical service organization could provide appropriate market
and
industrial
information
for
RS.D
labs,
and
help
the
transfer
labs
technology to industry;
• the R&D labs could refresh technical service personnel by providing
an environment of more advanced technology and competent peers in special
technical fields; and
• the
groups
managerial
service function could
in rationalizing clients'
To
mutually
enhance
organizational
functions
boundaries,
service
technical
production and related systems.
cooperation,
supportive
assist
Taiwan's
could
under the
experience
be
suggests
within
placed
same leadership,
or
at
the
that
the
the
same
same
locations.
VIM. Administrative Challenges by National Programs
After the initial stages of these national programs, mainly directed by
Li,
several government agencies equivalent to Ministry level were assigned the
major responsibilities.
Incapable
of
evaluating
assessing
performance.
Most
administrative
agencies,
however,
R&D proposals, monitoring implementation, and
Moreover, many supervisory
departments were
further "trapped' in another embarrassing situation: Many leaders of
institutions
R&D
were also key members on the directing or advisory committees,
and some were even close advisors
Accordingly,
were
many
R&D
projects
to
were
high-level
government
criticized
departments as nearly self-approved and self-evaluated.
16
by
officials.
administrative
To cope with this
situation,
many administrative agencies became active
recruiting and
in
consulting technical experts. This action accelerated the formation of a
group of technocrats, and infused a
lateral
communication
Among
had
to the traditionally
of
more
flexibility and
compartmented bureaucracy.
the different technologies, the industrial technology programs
most
the
new climate
new
adjustments,
managerial
and
leadership
including
organizational and personnel reallocation, whereas the basic research and
health-related projects experienced the least upheaval. The main reason lies
in the different
In
organizational principles and backgrounds.
discipline-oriented, small in
of the application
large
number
community,
research
basic
the
world
In
workteom
the
organization
size, and distant
normally
is
from the pressure
health-related programs, the already existing
of professional administrators
were experienced
in
managing
the relevant projects, most of which are relatively predictable or stable in
technological
evaluated
output-oriented,
competition
By contrast, the industrial
progress.
criteria,
working teams
and
organized
economic
by
much
in
larger,
and
is
international
closely
integrated
Therefore, the management in this group faced far more
difficulties than the above
IX.
eventually
technology group
two groups.
Challenges to Large R&D Institutions
Since major applied
R&D
institutions had to play a central role in advising,
planning, coordinating, and executing these national programs, they usually
Taking
had to undertake many structural improvements.
R&D
a large industrial
institution as an example, an integrated plan of as long as ten years'
length
was
first
preliminary work,
support the
taken under consideration
an overall
scheme
to
new technology strategy was
in
the early
strengthen its
needed.
1980s.
In
management
its
to
This scheme identified
nineteen crucial managerial issues currently faced by the institution, and
17
suggested various combinations of six major points for each one. These six
points were:
• upgrading of policy making and strategy formulation;
•
upgrading
strategies for
R&D
of
planning
projects,
function
determined
under
management systems,
and
policies
etc.,
• improvement of human relations and behavior;
• improvement of organizational functions and structure;
• education and training for necessary expertise; and
• recruitment of new personnel
if
education and training cannot be
accomplished with existing time constraints and existing personnel.
Of the nineteen issues, nearly half were judged to be high priority;
they were:
• redefinition of socio-economic missions;
• project selection and resource allocation;
• assessment of performance;
• improvement of creativity and productivity;
• contractual cooperation with government and industries;
• technology transfer and diffusion;
• technical consultation and service; and
• development of technology management.
Exhibit
noteworthy
5
summarizes
by
that,
this
upgrading
managerial
policy
and
improvement
strategy
plan.
formulation,
It
is
and
strengthening education and training, most of the urgent problems could be
largely alleviated.
As
a
matter
of fact, the underlying rationale in this "explicit plan" is
not limited to this institution alone.
other major applied
RS-.D
It
can be generally applied to many
organizations which are deeply impacted by these
national programs.
16
Exhibit 5 here.
X.
In
Challenges to Overall Development Framework
this nevY'
technology movement, /^OC's Nationo} Science and Technology
Development Program,
overall
points
first
announced
in
infrastructure and capabilities.
could be
categorized into eight
1979,
was aimed
at upgrading the
More specifically,
groups
of
its
strategic
essential
dimensions,
including (Chiang, 1960: 252-256):
• overall planning and coordination,
• human resources,
• financial resources,
• research and development,
• technology transfer,
• information,
• public understanding and support, and
• international cooperation.
Since
"portfolios"
all
the
main strategic measures and their implementation
were required by the national programs, the
overall development
framework was thus supporting the eight national programs.
Meanwhile,
in
these programs, many strategic and tactical means had to be considered
systematically and synergistically.
These programs reciprocally helped
integrate and mobilize the otherwise loosely interlinked or implemented
grand plan. Exhibit 6 outlines the key decisions and investments
in the
grand
development framework needed to support alternative energy development
and energy conservation -- the two major parts in the energy program.
In
other words, these eight national thrusts added considerable impetus and
vitality to the overall science and technology development framework.
19
Exhibit 6 here.
Implications
XI.
Constrained by the small number of cases
this study is, by nature,
In
in a specific
context in Taiwan,
more hypothesis-generating than hypothesis-testing.
on academic sense, the internal causality and external generalizability of
the
above arguments
Taiwan's
lessons can
are
questionable.
be very
In
for
helpful
sense,
however,
those technological
follower
a
practical
countries which, in the face of the present "new technology wave," lose
confidence
in the
conventional loose and "supply side" development approach
and begin to consider taking more active national strategies.
Taiwan's experience suggests that, for launching national programs of
some strategic technologies aiming
conditions at the national level
at
commercial
seem indispensable. They
applications,
three
are:
• a "national champion" (in the government);
• an institutional adjustment to facilitate nationwide coordination;
and
• an overall development framiework to upgrade infrastructure and
general capabilities.
The
first requisite is similar to the findings of the
importance of the
sponsor or "executive champion" at the corporate level (Maidique, 1980). The
second provides appropriate structural context.
The third interacts with
national programs, similar to the situation in matrix organizations.
In
order to strengthen this
still
inexperienced decision-making, the
organization of a foreign advisory group at the national level is desirable.
These foreign advisors can also contribute
For individual
programs, the
at
program and institution
interfacing issues
20
levels.
between R£^D and
are
applications
the
most challenging.
Taiwan's
experience
in
various
notiono) programs implies that special attention should be placed on:
• The long-term efforts to overcome the weakness in the development
phase
of
chemical
processes
which
are
difficult
imitate
to
or
reverse-engineer;
• the creation of appropriate distribution of upstream and downstream
R&D resources;
• the application contexts in the selection of
•
the
commercial
maintenance
companies
if
of
stable
highly
relations
comiplex
and
R&D
topics,
between
dynamic
R&D
labs
technology
and
is
transfered between them;
• the balance of capabilities
in
large-scale process technology and
plural, entrepreneurial product design;
• the formation of special task forces to undertake technical service,
and
• the cooperation of the mutually supportive R&D, technical service,
and mianagerial service functions.
Since national programs are administered by government, executed by
R&D
Institutions, and generally fostered by grand development plans, a great
demand for performance
will
upgrade their capabilities.
alternately
have
In
far-reaching
compel these "participants" to structurally
other words, these national programs can
impact on
factors.
21
contextual
and
infrastructural
Exhibit
1.
Development and Impact of Science ond Technology
Examples
Stages
1.
Scientific Hypotheses, Theories
Quantum Mechanics,
etc.
& Laws
2.
3.
Technological Elements and
Bases
Micro Manufacturing
Technology, etc.
Technologically Functional
IC Production, etc.
Systems
4.
Economically Feasible Systems
Function/Cost, Reliability,
Maintainability, etc.
5.
Applications
Computer, Automation,
Telecommunications,
Consumer Electronics,
6.
7.
etc.
Impact on Productivity, Business
Competition, Industrial
Microelectron'cs Industry
& Service, Integration of
Structure, International
Computer & Communication,
Competition
etc.
Impact on Social Systems
Communication Patterns,
Education, Occupational
Structure, Information
Society, Military
Strategies, etc.
8.
More Democracy? New
Values in Post-Industrial
Society?
Impact on Values
22
Exhibit
2.
Characteristics of Modern Science and Technolo gy
and Governnnenf s Role
Integration
of
S&T
Specification &
Differentiation
of
Enlargennent
S&T Impact
Scope & Depth
of
S&T
^
Active &
Extensive
Applications
of
S&T
in
industries
Stagnation of
Some Technology
\/
Acceleration
Ji^
Increasing
S&T
impact
of
Progress
Fields
_^
increasing
Emphasis on
Fundamental
R&D
_^
Emergence
of Big
j±
_ik.
S&T B
Expansion
of
R&D
Organization
Changing
e
importance
Attitudes
of S&T
toward
Assessment
S&T
increasing
jAl
Increasing Government's
Role in S&T Development
Jik_
increasing Importance
of National S&T
Policy & Strategy
23
^
Exhibit
Japan's Technolo gy Transfer Mechanisms
3.
Mel j l Era
Western
Advanced
Foreign Subsidiaries In Japan
Government R&D Institutes
High Education Institutes
^
Countries
Before World War
Countries
Before World War
Countries
After World War
Countries
> Private
industries
II
Foreign Businesses in Japan
X Developing
Government R&D Institutes
Countries
High Education Institutes
J
Japan's Big Trading Companies!-^ Private
Industries
Trade Associations
Western
Advanced
Western
Advanced —^
Industries
I
Foreign Subsidiaries In Japan
Government R&D Institutes
High Education institutes
Japan's Big Trading Companies
Western
Advanced
A Private
II
Foreign Businesses in Japan
Government R&D Institutes
High Education Institutes
Japan's Big Trading Companies
Business R&D Departments
Private R&D Institutes
Technology Transfer Agents
Others
^Developing
Countries
r
Technology
[-^Transfer
Agents
> Private
Industries
^
24
4^
Exhibit
4.
Technology Strategy Patterns In
Countries and
Strategy Patterns
U.S..
Snnoll
Large
Firnrjs
Firms R&D
Japan and Taiwan
MultiLabs Organizations
Gov't
U.S.
* Traditional Pattern
D
D
A
'Defense and Aerospace
D
D
A
•
•
Industries
o
>
(Mainly Government Budget)
•internal Venture
D
<
•Acquisition
•Strategic Alliances
D
>
n<
>n
•industrial Joint
D
D
A
•
•
o
Programs
>n
(Mainly Industrial Budget)
Japan
•Previous Pattern
A
n
(Technology Transfer from Gov't Labs to Private Firms)
• Post WWII Pattern
AD
•Close Cooperation
A
within industrial Group •
•National Joint
Programs
D
D
•
AD
•
o
>n
D
•
>D
(Goverment and Industrial Budget)
Taiwan
A
•Previous Pattern
• Modern Pattern
A
A
D
(Loose Cooperation among Organizations)
•National Strategic
A
A
D
•
•
Programs
>D
o
(Mainly Government Budget)
Relative Importance in Technology Development
D Crucial Importance
A Less importance
Participation in Joint Programs
• Major Participant
o Minor Participant
25
.
Cruciol Monogeriol Issues ond Mojor Meons
for A Large Industrial Technology R&D Institution
Exhibit
5.
Major Means
A B C D E
F
a
A
A
D
A
a
D
D
4. Project
5.
a
A
A
D
Crucial Managerial Issues
1
Socio-economic Missions
2. Objectives of Organizations
3. Project Selection
&
Resource
Allocation
Management
Assessment of Performance
a
a
n
6. Organization of Institutes and Labs
7. Organization of
8.
Priority
(/: high)
Teams
Recruitment, Training and Evaluation
of Personnel
a
Improvement of Creativity
10. Improvement of Productivity
9.
R&D
1
1.
Cooperation betveen
1
2.
Non-R&D Departments
Communication and Coordination of
1
3.
Management of Cost and Expenditures
D
D
D
A
A
y
A
A
y
and
D
R&D
14. Contractual Cooperation vith
A
Government
15. Contractual Cooperation vith
a
Enterprises
16. Technology Transfer, Diffusion
& Applications
a
17. Technical Consultation and Service
8. Forecast of Technology and Needs
A
1
1
9.
Development of Technology Management
Major Means
a
a
D
D
V
a
D
recruitment of personnel to take responsibility
B: education and training
C: improvennent of organizational structure and
functions
D: improvement of human relations and behavior
E: upgrading of planning function under determined
policies and strategies
F: upgrading of policy making and strategy
formulation
Importance of Utilization of Major Means
A: Important
D: very Important
A:
26
Interactions of National Energy Program
and Main Science and Technology Development Measures
Exhibit
6.
Main Dimensions of
Decisions & Investments
Alternative Energy
Development
Energy
Conservation
Overall Planning and Coordination
1.
•Government Leading Departments
-Premier Office
D
- Nati nal Sci e nee Co u nci 1
a
-Economic Ministry
-Defense Ministry, etc.
-Local Governments
D
D
D
D
•Major Participants
-Government
-Academic Community
-Applied
R&D
a
D
Institutes
a
•Regional Programs
-Urban Areas
-Rural Areas
D
a
•Environment and Infrastructure
-Technology- push Strategy and Measures
-Demand- pull Strategy and Measures
2.
A
D
D
-Industrial Corporations
-Consulting and Service Agencies
-Industrial and Trade Associations
A
D
Human Resources
•Science and Technology Expertise
-Scientists
-Engineers
-Technicians
-Skilled Workers
a
D
D
a
a
D
•Promotion and Application Expertise
-Marketing Specialists
D
D
-Technology Transfer Specialists
-Supporting Staff
•Managerial Expertise
-R&D and Technical Organization Leaders
-Project Leaders
-Managerial Staff
a
D
D
a
•Team Formation
-Availability of Constituents
-Appropriateness of Integration Mechanism
27
A
a
D
D
3.
Financial RGSourcee
•Ultlmiite Responsibility Sources
D
n
-Beneficiaries
-Causers
-General
D
A
D
a
•Investment
-Government Budget
-Private Sector Budget
D
•Allotment
-By Areas and Organizations
-By Scales
-By Urgency
•Utilization Efficiency
-improvement
of Financial
System
-Upgrading of Financial Personnel
a
n
D
Research and Development
4.
•Horizontal Integration
-Key Ingredient Disciplines
-Multidisciplinary Coverage and Cooperation
-including Social Sciences and Humanities
D
D
a
a
D
D
•Vertical Integration
a
-Basic Research
-Applied Research
-Development and Engineering
-Commercialization
-Promotion of Applications
•Project Management
-Uni -organizational Management
-Multi -organizational Management
5.
D
a
A
a
D
D
D
D
a
a
D
a
a
Technology Transfer
•Introduction from Foreign Countries
-Public Sector
-Private Sector
D
•Domestic Technology Transfer and Diffusion
-R&D
D
Institutes
A
-Manufacturers
D
-Consulting and Service Agencies
-Industrial and Trade Associations
-Subcontracting Systems
a
•Abandonment of Obsolete Technology
26
D
-Scheduled
-Export Feasibility
6.
Information
•Netvork
D
D
D
-General Purpose Data Bases
-Special Data Bases
-Service Channels
•Utilization
-Restricted
a
n
-Unrestricted
Public Understanding and Support
7.
•Fundamental Education
-Formal Education Curriculum
-Supplementary Programs
a
A
D
D
a
a
a
D
Q
•Mass Media Emphases
-Television
-Nevs papers
-Magazines
-Exhibitions
a
A
•Support
to Publication/Production Industry
-Relevant Information Supply
-Joint Campaign
-Financial Support
-Managerial Support
D
A
•Communication with Opinion Leaders
D
-Nationvide
-Regional and Local
8.
a
International Cooperation
•Information Exchange
-Science and Technology Information
-Industrial and Other Relevant Information
-Translation
D
D
D
D
•Human Exchange
-Individual Experts
-Groups and Teams
A
A
A
-Organizational Arrangement and Supporting
D
D
•Joint Programs
-Consideration of Potential Cost and Benefit
-Emphasis on Collaborative Mechanisms
a
a
O Very important
A Important
Degree of Importance:
29
.
,
.
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