THE TECHNOLOGICAL COMPETENCE OF EUROPEAN SEMICONDUCTOR PRODUCERS

A new method for assessing changing corporate technological competence and the impact of European collaboration policies is developed and ap plied to the case of the European semiconductor industry. The data ind icate that European technological competencies improved in the latter half of the 1980s. Increasingly, European firms adopted pro-active tec hnology partnerships (joint ventures and technology exchanges) as oppo sed to passive activities (second-sourcing and licensing). Although th e European research and development subsidy programmes of the 1980s at tempted to remedy Europe's weaknesses, there are reasons for questioni ng the policy methods chosen. Given the risks of high cost close-to-ma rket subsidies, policies for the 1990s should seek to encourage techno logy transfer from non-European partners and to stimulate healthy comp etition within Europe.