Elucidating How Environment Affects Patterns of Network Change: A Case Study of the Evolution of an Industrial Network in the Flat Panel Display Sector

As science and technology policy-makers focus on understanding how industry networks evolve, this study discusses how environmental changes affect the evolution of industrial networks, especially in the flat panel display (FPD) sector. By investigating different environmental scenarios, it can be shown that changes of environmental munificence and environmental uncertainty simultaneously affect industrial network transition and reshape distinctive network formations. Data from 71 countries from 1976 to 2008 have been examined to empirically evaluate their network relationships. This study, thus, demonstrates a longitudinal evolutionary trajectory for the FPD industry and locates the essential transition of technological competition via international technological coevolution. The analytical results demonstrate that different environmental scenarios provide different opportunities for countries to develop their niche competence in the FPD industry. Our findings provide insightful implications for policy-makers and business practitioners involved in dynamic and competitive global industries similar to FPD.