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• Supplement | HBS Case Collection | November 2019 (Revised January 2020)

  Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited: A Global Company’s China Strategy (B)

  William C. Kirby, Billy Chan and Dawn H. Lau

  After the legendary founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) retired, the new chairman had to grapple with fresh challenges related to its China market. A recently opened factory in China had to find ways to reverse its financial loss and meet its full capacity; one of its major Chinese customers was facing sanctions by the U.S. government; China was investing billions of dollars in building its own powerhouse to compete in semiconductor production. The transition from 4G to 5G technology in the telecommunication industry, and the U.S.-China trade war also added to the uncertainties facing TSMC. What had changed in the competitive landscape for TSMC, and how should it respond to the changes? What were the options for the company in doing business with China, when the country had become both a customer and a competitor?

  Keywords: cross-cultural; foreign investment; government; Business and Government Relations; Globalization; Change Management; Customer Relationship Management; Innovation Strategy; Global Strategy; Leadership; Semiconductor Industry; Taiwan; China;

  Citation:

  Kirby, William C., Billy Chan, and Dawn H. Lau. "Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited: A Global Company’s China Strategy (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 320-045, November 2019. (Revised January 2020.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2016 (Revised January 2020)

  University of Hong Kong: Bridging East and West

  William C. Kirby, Joycelyn W. Eby and John P. McHugh

  In the early 20th century, the University of Hong Kong (HKU) was established in order to serve as a bridge between mainland China and the British Empire. As an elite institution in the 21st century, HKU continued its role as a bridge, connecting mainland China, Hong Kong, and the world, but in a very different global context. President Peter Mathieson believed that HKU still had an important role to play but knew that HKU needed to adapt to China's growing global presence and the increasing influence of mainland Chinese universities. Mathieson needed to break through institutional complacency and unite HKU's oft-divided students, faculty, and administration behind a plan that would allow HKU to thrive in a landscape in which it competed not only with other institutions in Hong Kong, but also with the increasingly strong key universities in China as well as with leading institutions around the world. Would HKU be able to maintain its position as a top institution linking East and West in an increasingly connected and complex global society?

  Keywords: university administration; university curriculum; university faculty; Higher Education; Curriculum and Courses; Education Industry; Hong Kong; China;

  Citation:

  Kirby, William C., Joycelyn W. Eby, and John P. McHugh. "University of Hong Kong: Bridging East and West." Harvard Business School Case 316-068, June 2016. (Revised January 2020.)  View Details

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• Background Note | HBS Case Collection | March 2009 (Revised January 2020)

  A Strait of Uncertainty: Taiwan's Development in the Shadow of China

  William C. Kirby, J. Megan Greene, Tracy Manty, Yuanzhuo Wang, William C. Kirby, J. Megan Greene, Tracy Manty and Yuanzhuo Wang

  Relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC), on the Chinese Mainland, and the Republic of China (ROC), on Taiwan, had improved significantly since 2008. Taiwan investment in China had played a major role in China’s economic boom in recent decades. Investments, partnerships, study, travel, and marriages across the Strait pointed to a future of ever-greater interaction between two parties that brought Asia to the brink of war three times in the last half-century (1954, 1958, 1996). But what does the future hold? Will Taiwan thrive and yet maintain its autonomy as a part of the broader economy of “Greater China”? Will economic integration lead, inexorably, to Taiwan’s incorporation into the People’s Republic of China? Or will the 2016 electoral backlash in Taiwan against integration with the Mainland embolden the new Taiwan leadership to seek a future for Taiwan separate from China?

  Keywords: History; Development Economics; Investment; Economic Growth; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Financial Crisis; China; Taiwan;

  Citation:

  Kirby, William C., J. Megan Greene, Tracy Manty, and Yuanzhuo Wang. "A Strait of Uncertainty: Taiwan's Development in the Shadow of China." Harvard Business School Background Note 909-408, March 2009. (Revised January 2020.)  View Details

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