Dependence Dynamics in the Upstream of Semiconductor Supply Chain to the Automotive; A case study with four embedded cases

Sammanfattning

The increasing geopolitical uncertainty and prior disruption consequences have putpressure on automotive companies to increase visibility and control further upstreamin the automotive semiconductor supply chain. This master thesis, initiated by anautomotive OEM (the reference company), investigated the supply chains for fourraw materials used in semiconductors; gallium, germanium, antimony and high-purity quartz. The focus was on mapping core actors, geographical locations forextraction, and understanding the dependencies and potential risks with these ma-terials.The method was based on a case study approach with four embedded cases, witheach material being one case. Data was collected through extensive desk research,including market reports, annual reports and peer reviewed academic literature,and two rounds of semi-structured interviews with supply chain actors, experts andinternal employees at the reference company. The findings show a highly concen-trated supply network for some parts of the chain, especially in China, who domi-nates the refining capacity across three of the materials. Additionally, the findingsreveals multi-level dependencies across the supply chain. Organizational (micro-level), inter-organizational (meso-level) and systemic (macro-level) each contributeto supply risks in the value chain.With the use of resource dependency theory, power sources and multi-tier supplychain management, the study highlights that despite the eye-opener from COVID,companies still lack visibility beyond Tier 1 suppliers and strategies to reduce supplyrisks. The study found that reactive measures were more common than proactiveones across several tiers of the supply chain. Through mapping and analyzing de-pendence dynamics, this thesis aimed to provide insights and wake up calls forautomotive OEMs and other actors across the supply chain, to prevent future dis-ruptions to stall a whole supply chain. The semiconductor supply network shouldaim to be more resilient, and the findings underscore the need for greater visibilityand transparency to reduce dependencies and supply risks.