ABSTRACT
Consumer electronics have been an engine of growth for East Asian nations. Core research at home, and product development abroad appear the rule for most foreign firms manufacturing in South Korea, China, and Thailand. Improving knowledge networks in regional production chains would not necessarily take basic research abroad, but rather upgrade market and product research with deeper flows of knowledge across subsidiaries and contractors. I single out features of local sectors in each country that might promote or discourage knowledge exchange. I then look closely to Nikkei networks in each country to assess precedent and prospect for knowledge networks. South Korea, China, and Thailand have succeeded with remarkably different anchors in the value chains of Japan’s electronics production. Can they now lock in innovation?
