Building High-Tech Clusters Silicon Valley and Beyond

The contributions to this study of the origins of centers of industrial and technological innovation (such as Silicon Valley) reveal that these concentrated "clusters" of entrepreneurial high tech firms are characterized by rapid economic growth. No other analysts have examined how such clusters start, although many earlier works have studied Silicon Valley. The study's contributors conclude that the key public and business policy elements of starting a cluster are common to many regions, countries, and time periods.

This book was first published in 2004. National economic growth is fueled by the development of high technology clusters such as Silicon Valley. The contributors examine the founding of ten clusters that have been successful at an early stage of growth in information technology. Their key finding is that the economics of starting a cluster is very different from the positive feedback loop that sustains an established cluster. While 'nothing succeeds like success' in an established cluster, far more difficult, risky and unlikely are the initial conditions that give rise to successful clusters. The contributors find regularities in the start of the successful clusters studied, including Silicon Valley around 1964. These cases contain 'old economy' factors such as competencies, firm building capabilities, managerial skills, and connection to markets, more than the flamboyant 'new economy' factors that have been highlighted in prevailing years.

Preface; List of contributors; 1. Introduction Timothy Bresnahan and Alfonso Gambardella; 2. Learning the Silicon Valley way Gordon Moore and Kevin Davis; 3. Israel's Silicon Wadi: the forces behind cluster formation Catherine de Fontenay and Erran Carmel; 4. In the footsteps of Silicon Valley? Indian and Irish software in the international division of labor Ashish Arora, Alfonso Gambardella and Salvatore Torrisi; 5. Agglomeration and growth: a study of the Cambridge hi-tech cluster Suma Athreye; 6. Clusters, competition, and 'global players' in ICT markets: the case of Scandinavia John E. Richards; 7. Taiwan's Hsinchu region: imitator and partner for Silicon Valley AnnaLee Saxenian; 8. The role of government in regional technology development: the effects of public venture capital and science parks Scott Wallsten; 9. Imitating Silicon Valley: regional comparisons of innovation activity based on venture capital flows Michael Horvath; 10. Old economy inputs for new-economy outcomes: what have we learned? Timothy Bresnahan and Alfonso Gambardella; Index.

This book was first published in 2004. The contributors study how clusters of industrial and technological innovation such as Silicon Valley get started. They show that the key public and business policy elements of starting up a cluster are common across many regions, countries, and time periods.