快速跟隨、產業聚落與社會鑲嵌：以台灣IC設計產業為例

Abstract

台灣IC設計產業的技術並非是最尖端的，也不具有低人力成本與低價格的優勢，並且夾擠在先進的「創新領導型聚落」（例如：美國矽谷）與低成本優勢的「製造成本控制型聚落」（例如：中國大陸上海）之間發展。但台灣新竹的IC設計產業聚落卻仍能在知識快速流動的空間趨勢中，持續且擴大地理群聚效應，成為全球IC/半導體產業的重要節點。因此，本論文旨在回答以下的研究問題：在知識快速流動的空間趨勢中，為什麼台灣IC設計產業仍鑲嵌在台灣的經濟社會環境中持續群聚與成長？ \r\n本論文有以下主要研究結論：（一）IC設計廠商在台灣形成新竹與台北兩個產業聚落，新竹產業聚落包含「快速跟隨型」與「專業化型」兩種台灣IC設計廠商，台北則是「專業化型」廠商群聚。「快速跟隨型」IC設計廠商採取「次進市場」時間策略，「專業化型」IC設計廠商則以「市場區隔」時間策略切入產品生命週期；（二）新竹地區廠商的快速跟隨策略，由速度、彈性與成本控制的制度環境所支撐，其群聚效應與成長速度高於台北產業聚落；（三）本論文驗證了知識的快速流動空間，有助於地方空間的快速技術學習與產業群聚效應。

Taiwan’s IC design industry, located mainly in the Taipei-Hsinchu corridor, has important status in the global value chain of the world semiconductor industry. Nevertheless, it neither has cutting edge technology nor has the lowest cost advantage; it is besieged between leading innovative cluster (eg. Silicon Valley) and catch-up cluster that is based on production cost (eg. Shanghai). Most significantly, it still continues to grow in the age in which place is said to be meaningless due to the tendency of space of flows. This study thus aims to answer the following question: why does IC design industry still continue to embed in and to grow in the northern part of Taiwan?\r\nMy research findings can be summarized as follows. First of all, it is found that there are two major IC design clusters in the northern part of Taiwan: Hsinchu and Taipei. Secondly, it is found that firms in Hsinchu cluster have both “fast follower” and “specialist” characteristics, whereas IC design firms in Taipei has only “specialist” features. Fast follower firms adopt “second-to-market” strategy and specialist firms adopt “market-segmentation” strategy to enter the product market in the product-life-cycle. Thirdly, due to the fact that fast follower firms in Hsinchu are supported by institutionalized features that can sustain speed, flexibility, and cost-control which Taipei lacks, Hsinchu thus has better agglomeration effect and growth rate. Finally, this study concludes that current tendency of space of flows in which knowledge can be transmitted through space is contributive to Taiwan’s fast technological learning and clustering effect.