Volume 29, Issue 5, 2020
DOI: 10.24205/03276716.2020.1012
Competitive Advantage of Japan and Taiwan Transformer Industry
Abstract
Transformers are one type of magnetic component used in relevant structures like power switch supplies. Transformers are the necessary parts in all products involving electricity, for the alteration of current voltage during the processes of power generation, transformation, transmission and distribution. This paper is an empirical study, describes and explores the case of competitive advantages of the Japanese and the Taiwanese transformer industries as catalogued by the consumer electronics division and makes a comparison in order to discover the collaboration possibilities for the industries, and the purpose of collaboration between Japan and Taiwan is to enhance the competitive advantages for the industries. A major applicant of transformers is to increase or decrease voltage before transmitting electrical energy through wires. Most consumer and commercial electronic devices such as personal computers, home theaters, air conditions, TVs, cell phones, and notebooks, etc., for daily using need transformers to do electrical transfer. The main materials for transformers are cores and wires, and the prices rose since 2004 and fluctuated until 2010. For manufacturers, it is a big challenge between suppliers and customers. Asia-Pacific represents the largest and the fastest growing transformers market in the world, with sales projected to exceed US$ 21.4 billion by 2015. Many developed countries, like America, Japan, and Germany, energy conservation has been a serious issue. Meanwhile, transformer is not only a simple device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors but also plays a role in energy efficiency and environmental conservation. People realized and started on the issue of how to protect the earth and make energy efficiently. From the view of geography, Taiwan is proximity to Japan than most other countries and also historical and cultural factors are two of the points to contact Japan and Taiwan. Since the 1960s, Taiwan government had been attracting foreign investments through incentive policies, among which, 50% was invested in processing zones, with Japan taking the largest proportion, followed by the US. Some of engineers who worked for Japanese firms in Taiwan were sent to Japan to study knowledge, technologies and managements. This study not only discusses vertical integration and horizontal division but also issues external and internal factors which affect the competitive advantages for the industries. As firms go global, they must face more and more competitors and figure out how to break down barriers between international and domestic organizations and begin building the competitiveness and competitive advantages that acknowledges their respect for the success of innovation and dependence on the home country’s expertise.
Keywords
Competitiveness; Taiwan; Japan, Transformer Industry, Competitiveness, Competitive Advantage