In international business environment, the most significant phenomenon within the last decade has been the growth in the formation of strategic alliances. Strategic alliances are to exchange technologies, services and goods across national and firm boundaries. They can broaden core competence and reshape the competitive structure. Of course, alliance formation occurs when firms are in vulnerable strategic positions such that the payoffs to cooperation are high. Cross-licensing, collaborative R&D, OEM and exchange of complementary assets, using partner's comparative advantages are included in strategic alliances.
Korean semiconductor industry has excessively been dependent on foreign technologies since the early 1980's. But, as the technology competition is getting more severe recently, leading companies avoid to transfer core technologies they have. So it is almost impossible for the Korean semiconductor firms to have competitive advantages against other firms just through technology transfer. Now strategic alliances have become an absolutely essential means in improving capabilities of the firms in semiconductor industry.
Since the Korean semiconductor industry came to dominate the DRAM market in 1992 and in 1993 took the lead in the overall MOS memory market, the alliance forms are partly changing to collaborative, complementary or "horizontal" relationship from the subordinative or "vertical" ones.
In this thesis, a current status of the strategic alliances in the semiconductor industry has been considered in finding out what lessons there are to the Korean semiconductor firms, as well as the prospects which the Korean firms must pursue.
There may be two major tasks which should be overcome for the Korean semiconductor firms to be the "true" leading companies. First, The Korean firms have to take steps to adjust the business structure and ensure ongoing expansion in the future. The Korean semiconductor industry, even though it grew successfully, was weakened considerably due to its almost exhaustive emphasis on memory products. Second, The Korean firms have to diversify strategic alliance partners. This will reinforce the Korean semiconductor industry‘s competitiveness and improve its product structure.
