Publication Type
PhD Dissertation
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
4-2025
Abstract
Semiconductors, as a key upstream component in the electronics and information industries, have attracted global attention from nations and corporations due to their vast market values. The emergence of global semiconductor supply chains has fostered specialized industrial divisions, such as semiconductor materials, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and semiconductor fabrication. While China’s semiconductor industry holds certain global market shares across various sectors, it still lags in advanced technologies and high-end markets. Since 2018, the United States has imposed increasing tariffs and export restrictions on many Chinese firms (known as the US-China trade war) to prevent technology outflows, leading to substantial uncertainties that significantly impact the operations in semiconductor firms.
Against the backdrop ofdeglobalization of semiconductor supply chain, this thesis investigates supply chain risk management challenges faced by semiconductor enterprises. Given that semiconductor supply directly influences production cycles and costs in downstream industries, it becomes imperative to address how enterprises can manage uncertainties to maintain global competitiveness amidst rising risks in deglobalization of semiconductor supply chain.
This thesis employs both qualitative as well as quantitative research methods. From a managerial perspective, we conduct interviews with senior executives from Chinese semiconductor enterprises to understand operational impacts, short-term solutions, and long-term strategies across different semiconductor industry segments during the trade war. In addition, the Difference-in-Differences method is used to verify the overall performance of China’s semiconductor industry before and after US sanctions, providing robustness for interview findings.
The results reveal managerial decision-making pathways of semiconductor enterprises under US sanctions, offering management insights for handling risks in China’s semiconductor manufacturing industry, in particular, for semiconductor equipment enterprises. Findings indicate that enterprises adopting global procurement and inventory enhancement strategies to mitigate shocks, while implementing supply chain localization and regional alliance strategies to address uncertainties, are viable countermeasures to risk mitigation in semiconductor supply chain. These countermeasures can substantially reduce impacts of US sanctions and significantly improve firm performance in China’s semiconductor industry. The findings provide practical implications for industry practitioners.
Keywords
China Semiconductor Industry, Risk Management, Uncertainty, Firm Performance, Supply Chain Management
Degree Awarded
SMU-SJTU Doctor of Business Administration
Discipline
Asian Studies | Operations and Supply Chain Management
Supervisor(s)
WANG, Hai
First Page
1
Last Page
125
Publisher
Singapore Management University
City or Country
Singapore
Citation
CAO, Youbing.
Risk management for semiconductor manufacturing equipment suppliers within rapid changing international environment: An empirical study. (2025). 1-125.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/753
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.