Nordic small countries in the global high-tech value chains: the case of telecommunications systems production in Estonia

In this paper we focus on the electronics industry, and more specifically on the production of telecommunications systems, which is characterised both by very rapid growth of the global trade and very high ratio of R&D investments in the sales revenues (Moncada-Paternoo-Castello et al 2010). More specifically, we analyse the distinctly different development paths of the three major telecommunications systems producers in the Nordic countries: Ericsson, Elcoteq and Skype. Ericsson was established in 1876, and has been a well-known brand name for decades. By contrast, Elcoteq grew from a small company into a global multinational corporation in less than a decade only in the 1990s. As a global company, Skype is still less than ten years old, but it facilitates today more international calls than any other telecommunications operator on the planet.