Yritysten toimijuus Euroopan unionin puolijohdealan tulevaisuuden muovaamisessa

This study investigates how semiconductor firms exercise strategic agency in shaping the European Union’s pursuit of technological sovereignty. It examines the tension between the EU’s ambition for Open Strategic Autonomy and the realities of globally interdependent value chains. Addressing how the EU can advance technological self-sufficiency by leveraging firms’ strategic agency amid geopolitical uncertainty, the thesis contributes to research on dynamic capabilities in politically embedded and institutionally turbulent markets. The study employs a qualitative mixed-methods design that is exploratory, interpretive, and abductive. Data include directed content analysis of strategic communications from years 2019 to 2025 from major European semiconductor firms, alongside materials from the European Semiconductor Industry association and four expert interviews. This multi-source approach enables triangulation and analysis informed by concepts from dynamic capabilities, strategic foresight, and industry architecture. Findings show that European semiconductor firms operate within three interlinked domains: (1) environmental risks related to market volatility, supply chain concentration, and resource dependencies, (2) institutional conditions shaped by geopolitics, trade fragmentation, and regulatory complexity, and (3) organizational capabilities involving innovation leadership, ecosystem collaboration, and internal risk management. These dynamics give rise to four modes of firm agency: policy advocacy, strategic R&D and capacity alignment, ecosystem nurturing and venture building, and talent cultivation and development. The study concludes that technological self-sufficiency can only advance by recognizing firms as active co-architects of Europe’s semiconductor future. Strategic autonomy emerges through continuous alignment of environmental pressures, institutional structures, and firm-level agency.