EXPORT-LED TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT IN THE 4 DRAGONS - THE CASE OF ELECTRONICS

To date, little attention has been paid to the strategies of local fir ms in bringing about industrialization in East Asia. This article focu ses on the methods by which domestic firms utilized foreign connection s to overcome technology and market barriers in electronics. A simple market-technology model is developed as a first approximation of how d omestic technology assimilation relates to export marketing in the fou r 'Dragons' of East Asia (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore ). It proposes that export demand shaped the pace and pattern of techn ological progress in electronics in each of the four Dragons. Historic al evidence shows that each country used a distinctive mix of direct a nd indirect export mechanisms to acquire technology and to enter inter national markets. Foreign buyers, transnational corporations (TNCs), o riginal equipment manufacturer (OEM) arrangements, joint ventures and licensing deals were exploited by 'latecomer' firms to their market an d technology advantage. Asian firms progressed from simple assembly ta sks to more sophisticated product design and development capabilities, travelling 'backwards' along the product life cycle of traditional in novation models. Today, leading Asian firms invest heavily in R&D and engage in partnerships with TNCs to acquire and develop advanced new e lectronics technologies. The technological progress of latecomers rema ins closely coupled to export demand through OEM and other institution al arrangements.