Dynamic outsourcing development for sustainable competitive advantage in a high-tech backend semiconductor equipment firm

Abstract

In a high-tech backend semiconductor business where a market environment changes sharply and requires competitiveness of high technology, one of the most important criteria is to establish an optimal strategy for outsourcing development so a firm can achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Many studies have investigated sustainable and successful strategies for the selection and management of outsourcing suppliers, whereas, this study focuses mainly on analyzing the most affecting factor for outsourcing development in the perspective of dynamic capability by using the Delphi Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. For the analysis of affecting factors, 4 dimensions are defined: technology, organization, environment, and process. The research result shows that the sustainability of the productive skill in the technology dimension is adopted as the most affecting factor for outsourcing development among the defined 4 dimensions of an outsourcing supplier's capability. With this research, a high-tech firm can measure the level of each dimension and each factor in developing outsourcing service providers. Then the firm can develop an appropriate outsourcing provider who contributes to the firm's sustainable competitive advantage. This study also provides a practical and strategic framework of a high-tech firm's outsourcing development in variable market situations and changeable conditions of transaction.