UNISON framework of system dynamics-based technology acquisition decision for semiconductor manufacturing and an empirical study

Semiconductor industry is technology-intensive and capital-intensive, in which semiconductor manufacturing companies strive to continuously migrate to advanced process technologies with productivity and quality to maintain competitive advantages effectively and efficiently. Since technology acquisition and capacity expansion take a long lead time, the present problem is a strategic decision under uncertainties that needs both human judgments and analytical approaches. Limitations of the existing studies can be traced in part to the lack of a framework within which different strategies can be evaluated while considering dynamic and uncertain market condition with systematic decision approaches. Focusing on realistic needs, this study aims to propose a framework for analyzing technology acquisition decisions with analytics based on historical data and conduct an empirical study for semiconductor manufacturing to reduce the risks and optimize the expected benefits. A system dynamic-based model was employed to clarify the dynamic interactions to evaluate the expected out-comes of the technology acquisition strategies. Moreover, sensitivity analysis is conducted to investigate the impacts of key factors to provide insights into different market scenarios for the decision-makers. The results of the empirical study have shown the practical viability of the proposed approach.