Publication Type
PhD Dissertation
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
3-2025
Abstract
The semiconductor industry originated in the United States in the 1940s and serves as the cornerstone of the modern information technology industry. Semiconductors, hailed as the "grain of industry", are of utmost significance to China, a country that builds its foundation on manufacturing. With the escalation of China's industrial upgrading and global competition, a large number of semiconductor enterprises have been established in China in recent years.
Based on the Upper Echelons Theory, this paper commences from the literature on founder research in entrepreneurship studies, and in conjunction with small-sample interviews, proposes the "521" model for observing Chinese semiconductor enterprise founders. It deeply analyzes the crucial role played by founder capabilities in the growth of semiconductor enterprises through questionnaire research and case studies.
Firstly, based on the semi-structured interview outline, the researcher selected 12 representative enterprise founders including those from SM, AE, YT, XC and other enterprises for in-depth interviews. Secondly, based on literature review and field interviews, this paper proposes the "521" model for founder analysis: "5" represents the five capabilities of semiconductor enterprise founders, namely insight, learning ability, technical expertise, self-motivation, and networking skills; "2" represents product innovation and organizational scale; "1" represents enterprise performance. Three research hypotheses are also put forward. Thirdly, using 140 semiconductor enterprise founders who filled out questionnaires as a sample, through basic regression analysis, mediating effect analysis and differential analysis, it is concluded that founders' insight, learning ability, technical expertise, self-motivation, and networking skills all have a significant positive impact on enterprise performance. Finally, this paper selects Company A for a case study. Company A is a start-up company that typically addresses the "bottleneck" problems in China's semiconductor industry, seizes new opportunities emerging from the new situation of global competition, and is founded and developed by a new generation of founders. It is particularly representative in the current context.
This research conducts empirical analysis based on first-hand data of Chinese semiconductor enterprise founders. The main innovations and contributions are as follows: Innovation 1: Based on literature analysis and small-sample interviews, a "521" analysis model of founder capabilities and enterprise performance is constructed. Innovation 2: According to classical scales, a scale for Chinese semiconductor industry founders is developed. Based on a questionnaire survey of 140 semiconductor industry enterprise founders, the impact of the five capabilities of Chinese semiconductor industry founders on enterprise performance is deeply analyzed. Innovation 3: Taking semiconductor Company A as a case, and analyzing from the two dimensions of products and organizations at the enterprise level, a further analysis and discussion on the key capabilities of founders who solve "bottleneck" problems of this kind are carried out.
Keywords
Founder, semiconductor enterprise, "521" model, enterprise performance
Degree Awarded
Doctor of Bus Admin (CKGSB)
Discipline
Asian Studies | Strategic Management Policy
Supervisor(s)
WANG, Heli
First Page
1
Last Page
137
Publisher
Singapore Management University
City or Country
Singapore
Citation
WANG, Aiyang.
The one generates all things: Founder competencies and firm performance in Chinese semiconductor enterprises. (2025). 1-137.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/712
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.