{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/47658"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/47658","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Vertical integration and the portability of skill sets in high tech industries","abstract":"Some companies use vertical integration to enter higher growth businesses and gain higher margins. Attractive business opportunities often appear just beyond one's stage in a value chain, leading companies to grasp for another stage's profits. However, the skill set one builds in a particular stage of a high tech value chain is often not portable to another stage in the same chain, offering a potential pitfall to those who seek to vertically integrate. This thesis explores the experience of one company's efforts to integrate vertically to capture profits enjoyed by their customers. Through a lack of appreciation for the complexity of the downstream manufacturing operations and a lack of portable competence, the firm failed to gain the hoped for revenues. Additionally, by focusing on new businesses, this company also lost some of the competence they had in their traditional business.","abstract_html":"Some companies use vertical integration to enter higher growth businesses and gain higher margins. Attractive business opportunities often appear just beyond one's stage in a value chain, leading companies to grasp for another stage's profits. However, the skill set one builds in a particular stage of a high tech value chain is often not portable to another stage in the same chain, offering a potential pitfall to those who seek to vertically integrate. This thesis explores the experience of one company's efforts to integrate vertically to capture profits enjoyed by their customers. Through a lack of appreciation for the complexity of the downstream manufacturing operations and a lack of portable competence, the firm failed to gain the hoped for revenues. Additionally, by focusing on new businesses, this company also lost some of the competence they had in their traditional business.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Siebach, Benjamin D. (Benjamin David), 1968-"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Thomas W. Eagar and Donald B. Rosenfield."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1998,"date_issued":"1998","date_published":"1998","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:28Z","subjects":["Materials Science and Engineering","Sloan School of Management"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"rights_urls":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/47658","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Thomas W. Eagar and Donald B. Rosenfield."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering","Sloan School of Management"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Siebach, Benjamin D. (Benjamin David), 1968-"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2009-10-01T15:30:06Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2009-10-01T15:30:06Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1998"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Materials Science and Engineering","Sloan School of Management"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/47658"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1998.","Includes bibliographical references (leaf 30)."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Some companies use vertical integration to enter higher growth businesses and gain higher margins. Attractive business opportunities often appear just beyond one's stage in a value chain, leading companies to grasp for another stage's profits. However, the skill set one builds in a particular stage of a high tech value chain is often not portable to another stage in the same chain, offering a potential pitfall to those who seek to vertically integrate. This thesis explores the experience of one company's efforts to integrate vertically to capture profits enjoyed by their customers. Through a lack of appreciation for the complexity of the downstream manufacturing operations and a lack of portable competence, the firm failed to gain the hoped for revenues. Additionally, by focusing on new businesses, this company also lost some of the competence they had in their traditional business."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["S.M."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Vertical integration and the portability of skill sets in high tech industries"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Thomas W. Eagar and Donald B. Rosenfield."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering","Sloan School of Management"],"dc:creator":["Siebach, Benjamin D. (Benjamin David), 1968-"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2009-10-01T15:30:06Z"],"dc:date.available":["2009-10-01T15:30:06Z"],"dc:date.issued":["1998"],"dc:description":["Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1998.","Includes bibliographical references (leaf 30)."],"dc:description.abstract":["Some companies use vertical integration to enter higher growth businesses and gain higher margins. Attractive business opportunities often appear just beyond one's stage in a value chain, leading companies to grasp for another stage's profits. However, the skill set one builds in a particular stage of a high tech value chain is often not portable to another stage in the same chain, offering a potential pitfall to those who seek to vertically integrate. This thesis explores the experience of one company's efforts to integrate vertically to capture profits enjoyed by their customers. Through a lack of appreciation for the complexity of the downstream manufacturing operations and a lack of portable competence, the firm failed to gain the hoped for revenues. Additionally, by focusing on new businesses, this company also lost some of the competence they had in their traditional business."],"dc:description.degree":["S.M."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/47658"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Materials Science and Engineering","Sloan School of Management"],"dc:title":["Vertical integration and the portability of skill sets in high tech industries"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:28Z"}