| dc.description.abstract | Three major oil crises occurred in the 20th century. The prices of oil quadrupled from US$3 to nearly US$12 per barrel in the 1973 to 1974 oil crisis; over double from US$14 to US$35 per barrel in the 1979 to 1950 oil crisis; and the 1990 oil crisis caused the prices of oil to peak at US$40 per barrel compared to US$14. The unstable oil prices not only led to global economic recession but also triggered wars in between nations. Many countries tended to rely less on petroleum; instead, stated to develop renewable energy, such as wind, water, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy. However, it was not until the Kyoto Protocol entered into force in 2005 and the rising of oil prices to over US$100 per barrel in the early 21st century that the of renewable energy was drawn by international attention.
Solar cell energy is usually free from the geographic limitations and therefore results in a rapid growth among renewable energy sources over the past years. However, the 2008 economic crisis indeed had a tremendous affect on the industry and it is the challenge all solar cell manufactures face on how to maintain the high growth from the past years and not to be phased out over the challenges.
This research used a leading solar cell manufacturer in Taiwan as the case study object and compared the manufacturer with a similar global leading manufacturer. By doing so, the researcher intended to find out the differences between the developments of their manufacturer when facing major challenges. Moreover, the researcher emphasized more on the leading solar cell manufacturer in Taiwan and found out in order to maintain growth, should the manufacturer continue developing vertical integration as their supply chain? Or should it maintain tenaciously on the original model?
The researcher intended to utilize the strategic development and performance of enterprise from the two leading global solar cell manufacturers, along with factors such as the competitive advantages of nations, the five forces analysis, SWOT analysis and under the scenario framework of the manufacturer facing challenges. By conducting such research, the researcher successfully provided suggestions to the manufacturer on business strategies that can be used as their future references.
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