Chips and Change: How Crisis Reshapes the Semiconductor Industry

by Clair Brown, Greg Linden

How the chip industry has responded to a series of crises over the past twenty-five years, often reinventing itself and shifting the basis for global competitive advantage. For decades the semiconductor industry has been a driver of global economic growth and social change. Semiconductors, particularly the microchips essential to most electronic devices, have transformed computing, communications, entertainment, and industry. In Chips and Change , Clair Brown and Greg Linden trace the industry over more than twenty years through eight technical and competitive crises that forced it to adapt in order to continue its exponential rate of improved chip performance. The industry's changes have in turn shifted the basis on which firms hold or gain global competitive advantage. These eight interrelated crises do not have tidy beginnings and ends. Most, in fact, are still ongoing, often in altered form. The U.S. semiconductor industry's fear that it would be overtaken by Japan in the 1980s, for example, foreshadows current concerns over the new global competitors China and India. The intersecting crises of rising costs for both design and manufacturing are compounded by consumer pressure for lower prices. Other crises discussed in the book include the industry's steady march toward the limits of physics, the fierce competition that keeps its profits modest even as development costs soar, and the global search for engineering talent. Other high-tech industries face crises of their own, and the semiconductor industry has much to teach about how industries are transformed in response to such powerful forces as technological change, shifting product markets, and globalization. Chips and Change also offers insights into how chip firms have developed, defended, and, in some cases, lost global competitive advantage.

Genres: Technology, Business

257 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't remember the circumstances in which this book was recommended to me, only that I capitalized on an Amazon price mistake that camelcamelcamel alerted me to in which I purchased this $40 book from my wish list for $8. I suppose that is how they get you.

It sat there on my shelf, bright bright green, for several years staring at me until I finally decided to tackle it.

I make these points because I do not think I was the intended audience for this book. It's by no means a bad book, I just feel that I should have a master's in computer engineering business development to fully appreciate it. I suppose I was hoping for and expecting a neat little history of electronics from the last couple of decades, which it technically is, but very technically.

This isn't a story about people, I can't recall any names of specific individuals given, but there are lots of numbers and charts and graphs but no pictures of the complicated technologies being described.

It reads like a thesis or dissertation wrapped up and sold in a hardcover packaging. That is to say you can tell the authors worked really hard on conducting their research and synthesizing it into a cohesive narrative, but it's not all that fun to read.

There are occasional interesting tidbits along the way I appreciated. For example, in the 1970s and 80s everyone thought Japan was going to take over the entire electronics industry and consequently have a booming economy in the 1990s. That didn't happen. The authors explain that this is in part because Japan focused on making high-quality expensive parts for corporate mainframe computers, which were in demand for a long time, but failed to shift to making lower-quality and cheaper parts for consumer home PCs when those suddenly became the bee's knees. Oops. I wonder if that is why Japan is culturally not as in to using desktop PCs for gaming and other entertainment.

So yeah, if you really love electronics and numbers and want to shake up the semiconductor industry soon but don't know how to get started, this book is for you.

[Jeffrey Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on the transition from mostly in-house manufacturing of semiconductors to a much greater reliance on silicon foundries. This evolution makes it possible for semiconductor firms to specialize in design of circuits without having to establish their own fabs. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) had become the foundry of choice for many U.S. firms and was successful in competing with firms like Intel and Samsung in producing state-of-the-art chips.

[Alessandro Piovaccari · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for anyone working in the semiconductor industry

Besides being a little outdated (more than 10 years old) this provide a great historic summary an analysis of the semiconductor industry from its inception to the first decade of the new millennium. Full of great lessons. An indispensable know-how for any serious executive operating in this industry.

[Doug O'laughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had some good older information, but was repetitive and didn’t add much new to the total conversation. Oh and it’s a bit older of a book. Sources in the back are great though.

[Santosh Mutyala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read. Gives a historical perspective on trends in semiconductor industry. Must read for people in working/want to work in semiconductor industry. Although a person working in semiconductor industry might find all the data and content obvious, it still gives a nice brush up on semiconductor industry.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of the dynamics of the contemporary Semiconductor market. I read this for work, but actually enjoyed it. It has real numbers in it. Yay.

[Hans Gerwitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but very "vertical" in focus. As a result, it quickly feels dated and needs a revisit for the current landscape.