專業晶圓代工策略分析－資源依賴觀點

Abstract

半導體產業是各國兵家必爭之地，並已成為台灣的經濟命脈。其中台灣之代表企業台積電於1987年成立，以其首創的專業晶圓代工模式，改變了半導體產業鏈生態，目前也是全球最大、營收排名最高的晶圓代工廠。 回顧1980年代，半導體產業以整合元件製造商(IDM)為主。資源依賴理論(Resource Dependence Theory)認為，組織為了確保生存，應降低獲取資源的不確定性，IDM的整合模式能將上下游分工的不確定性降到最低，應當更符合理論所述。反觀台積電只專注於晶圓加工，不從事設計、封測、銷售等其他行為，從而產生多一層的不確定性。然而時至今日IDM廠卻逐漸走向Fab-Lite(輕晶圓廠)分工甚至Fabless，台積電則已然躍升世界半導體企業排名第三、晶圓產能排名第一的企業。因此本研究欲了解半導體企業在策略上究竟是採取資源依賴或資源不依賴，擬以資源依賴理論為架構審視專業晶圓代工模式的台積電與現今世界IDM龍頭三星及Intel所採取的策略，並進行分析比較。 本研究梳理國內外學者對半導體產業與專業晶圓代工發展的研究，再以個案研究法對個案公司台積電近年來的策略透過資源依賴理論為架構作分析，並比較其與三星及Intel之策略，從而得到以下結論：技術發展已經導致半導體產業發生數次分工，若摩爾定律持續有效，新技術勢必會不斷出現，從而導致進一步分工，故半導體企業在商業模式上將越來越需要依賴外部組織。然而通過各企業的策略分析，本文所比較的三家企業皆是以降低獲取資源的不確定性為目標，符合資源依賴理論所述。是以在商業模式雖受產業技術發展的客觀原因，使IDM模式漸漸地走向分工，但不代表各組織的策略不符合資源依賴理論。相反的，不論是專業晶圓代工模式還是IDM模式，各組織在策略上仍致力於減少對外部的資源依賴。此外本文並更進一步建議在現今國際情勢複雜、美國政府動作頻頻的背景下，個案公司應持續加強政治行動，以降低獲取資源的不確定性。

The Semiconductor Industry has become one of the most important industries in the world and has become the lifeblood of Taiwan's economy. TSMC, one of Taiwan's leading companies, was established in 1987 and has changed the ecology of the semiconductor industry chain with its pioneering dedicated foundry model, and is now the world's largest foundry with the highest revenue ranking. In the 1980s, the semiconductor industry was dominated by integrated device manufacturers (IDMs). The Resource Dependence Theory suggests that in order to ensure survival, organizations should reduce the uncertainty of access to resources. On the contrary, TSMC only focuses on wafer fabrication and does not engage in other activities such as design, packaging, testing, and sales, thus creating an additional uncertainty. However, IDMs are gradually becoming Fab-Lite or even Fabless, while TSMC has leaped to the third place in the world in terms of semiconductor companies and the first place in terms of wafer capacity. The study aims to examine the strategies adopted by TSMC, a dedicated foundry, and Samsung and Intel, the world leaders in IDM, and to compare their strategies. This study compares TSMC's strategies with those of Samsung and Intel, and draws the following conclusions: Technology development has led to several divisions of labor in the semiconductor industry. If Moore's Law is still applicable, new technologies are bound to emerge, leading to further division of labor, and therefore semiconductor companies will increasingly rely on external organizations. However, through the analysis of each company's strategy, the three companies compared in this paper all aim to reduce the uncertainty of obtaining resources, which is in line with the Resource Dependence Theory. Although IDMs are gradually moving towards a business model that is more reliant on outsourcing due to the obvious trend of rapid technological developments within the industry, it does not mean that the strategies of each organization are against the Resource Dependence Theory. On the contrary, regardless of whether it is the dedicated foundry model or the IDM model, organizations are still committed to reducing their dependence on external resources in their strategies. In addition, this paper further suggests that in the current complex international situation and the frequent actions of the U.S. government, TSMC should continue to strengthen their political actions to reduce the uncertainty of obtaining resources.