Technology, Organisation and Export-driven Research and Development in Austria’s Electronics Industry

Over the past two decades Austria’s export-driven electronics industry has experienced a progressive territorial distribution that has substantially decentralised production and employment. Nevertheless, the capital region’s concentration has provided many advantages to R&D-intensive establishments through subcontractual opportunities and better access to advanced research and production skills. This paper analyses the relationship between R&D, territorial location and the most important organisational characteristics in Austria’s electronics industries. An assessment of operational motivations, based on establishment-level survey data, is followed by a factor analysis that reveals the main organisational dimensions. Statistical analyses of the association between R&D intensity, territorial location and the organisational factors are then expanded to consider subcontracting and just-in-time production methods. Two-way subcontracting, whereby firms both subcontract part of their production out and are in turn contracted by others, is found to be prevalent. Such arrangements are thought to help firms specialise and avoid implementing costly production techniques whilst helping save capital and resources that can be reinvested in R&D. These analyses provide important insights on the association between R&D and subcontracting, just-in-time production and on the advantages of skilled production labour and plant size for research-intensive manufacturing establishments.