Abstract: This presentation will introduce the value chain research approach and how it can be used to evaluate competitive and collaborative dynamics among firms in the nanotechnology industry. The research approach has two main parts; mapping and analysis. The first step is value chain mapping; the process of identifying firms (& products) in each stage of the supply chain and where they are located geographically. Examples will be provided on how the framework has been used to map firms and products in a supply chain and a location’s ‘footprint’ in the chain. The second part is value chain analysis; using the information discovered in the mapping process to explain how and why firms are linked together in the chain and how this differs by segment of the chain, industry, and location.  A nanotechnology-specific value chain research approach along with educational and visual tools  were developed for the CNS summer internship program and are currently being applied in the California in the Nano Global Economy website project. Both projects will be discussed and resources will be presented for anyone interested in applying this approach in their own research.

Dr. Stacey Frederick has worked as a extramural collaborator with Appelbaum's IRG2 over the past few years focusing on a global value chain analysis of China, the United States, and North Carolina.  She also worked with the summer research intern project at CNS-UCSB in 2008 and 2009 and has helped develop the 'Traveling Technologies' project, which is becoming a resource for others to adopt and adapt for undergraduate research.  In 2011, Stacey will examine California’s footprint in nanotechnology and its emerging research networks and resources by conducting a value chain analysis of the California nanotechnology industry. Results will feed into a California in the Nanotechnology Economy website, which will highlight California’s position in the national and global value chain and showcase how visual analytic tools can be used to do this. Stacey is based at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Prior to working at Duke, she earned her PhD and B.S. in Textile Technology Management from North Carolina State University.