Managing technological sovereignty: a systematic review of semiconductor industry policy and regional ecosystem governance

Abstract

Introduction: As the semiconductor industry shifts from a logic of efficiency to one of technological sovereignty and supply chain resilience, engineering managers and policymakers face unprecedented uncertainty. While nations are relaunching industrial policies to mitigate geopolitical risks, a critical puzzle remains: why do similar macro-strategies yield divergent outcomes across different regional innovation ecosystems? Existing literature tends to bifurcate between macro-level state competition and micro-level firm strategies, creating a theoretical disconnect. Methods: Drawing on Merton's Middle-Range Theory, this study bridges this gap by adopting a “structure-process-function” perspective. We conducted a systematic review of 104 core articles from the Web of Science Core Collection to diagnose the meso-level governance mechanisms that mediate national strategy and regional context. We propose a “dual fit” analytical framework, arguing that policy effectiveness is contingent upon two simultaneous alignments: (1) “strategy-execution fit” (macro-meso), where governance mechanisms (process) must align with national security goals (structure); and (2) “execution-context fit” (meso-micro), where interventions must be embedded within the region's specific endowments and dynamic capabilities. Results: Our findings identify two primary failure modes: “governance failure” (misalignment of incentives) and “contextual failure” (neglect of absorptive capacity). Discussion: This study contributes to engineering management theory by providing a multi-level mechanism to diagnose policy-ecosystem fit, offering actionable insights for managing semiconductor supply chains in a fragmented global order.