ORIGINAL PAPER Systemic Analysis of the Brazilian Production Chain of Semiconductors: Graphic Representation and Leverage Points Diego Dama ´sio de Lima 1 • Daniel Pacheco Lacerda 1 • Miguel Afonso Sellitto 1 Published online: 22 June 2016 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016 Abstract The purpose of this article is to analyze systemically the Brazilian production chain of semiconductors. The specific objectives of this article are to represent the chain systemically and to identify key variables and leverage points that can increase the overall performance of the semiconductor industry. The research method is qualitative modelling. Eleven practitioners of the industry answered a questionnaire approaching various aspects of the semiconductor industry in Brazil. By a systemic approach, the complex behavior present in the industry was considered. By content analysis, we identified patterns in the speech of the respondents. Texts fragments allowed the identification of key themes and variables present in the system. The association among key variables and complex behavior helped to build a systemic structure, aimed at representing the main relationships in the system. From the systemic structure, eight leverage points were identified and discussed. The key implications of the findings are the damage that cheap imports make in the local market; the need of strong public policies that include more than tax reduction, but also local conditions, like clusters or technological parks, for the high-tech manufac- ture; and the promotion of conditions that stimulate private investment in the industry. Keywords Semiconductor industry Á Technological clusters Á Systems thinking Á Complexity & Miguel Afonso Sellitto sellitto@unisinos.br Diego Dama ´sio de Lima eng.diego@gmail.com Daniel Pacheco Lacerda dlacerda@unisinos.br 1 Production and System Engineering Graduate Program, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos – UNISINOS, Sa ˜o Leopoldo, RS, Brazil 123 Syst Pract Action Res (2017) 30:295–316 DOI 10.1007/s11213-016-9392-5