International competitiveness in the advanced materials sector : the case of carbon fibre

• Main Author: Russell, Celia
• Published: University of Manchester 1996
• Subjects: 620.1
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.595835

Carbon fibre is the most commercially significant of the advanced materials, and its development has been driven by both civil and defence interests. With the end of the Cold War, demand from the defence sector virtually collapsed. The data presented in this thesis reveal the consequent global restructuring of the industry. Over the five year period 1990-1995, European market share fell over twenty percentage points, while that of Japan increased markedly. Meanwhile, US production levels faltered and then recovered following government intervention to stabilise this dual-use technology. This thesis examines the subsequent international shift in the location and ownership of carbon fibre production capacity and the variation in corporate response over this turbulent time. It is found that the national business systems in which this particular high technology sector operates have played a fundamental role in shaping the eventual competitive structure of the industry.