Chinese ICT industry from supply chain perspective-A case study of the major Chinese ICT players

Having emerged in the middle of the 20th century, the information and communication technology (ICT) industry has sprung up during the past 20 years. China plays a significant role within the ICT segment in that it has become a major supplier and a fast growing market in the world. This paper, based on interviews in 2006 with nine important Chinese ICT companies, identifies the supply network structure for Chinese ICT industry and its value-adding opportunities. The essential finding is that the domestic operators are the focal companies within the Chinese ICT supply network. This result is further verified by an alliance analysis using the UCINET software.