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The Regional Advantage of Silicon Valley |
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Saxenian explores the Regional Advantages that have put Silicon Valley firms on top of the personal computing market. She compares Silicon Valley to its once upon a time twin, Route 128 in Massachusetts. Both areas were driven by university based research and cold war military spending. Both were considered fountains of technological progress. Then they both experienced downturns in the 1980's. When it was over, Silicon Valley bounced back, higher than did Route 128. Saxenian reveals how the Route 128 culture of fierce corporate loyalty and extreme secrecy between firms encouraged a regional industrial culture of stability and self reliance. As a result, the region was made up of a smaller number of vertically integrated (autarkic) giants.
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Silicon Valley on the other hand, emerged as an interrelated complex of smaller specialist firms. Instead of seeking stability and self reliance, the interdependence of Silicon Valley firms allowed them to innovate rapidly. The innovations of Silicon Valley are therefore not the result of any one firm's efforts. Rather, they are the result of engineering teams, often composed of members from different specialist companies, and always of people who have worked at other Silicon Valley firms in the past. Saxenian reveals that what has made Silicon Valley successful, is its ability to unite a myriad of individual and organizational interests in the name of technological innovation.
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Saxenian, Annalee. Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, MA. 1994.
This is a fascinating examination of how a region's industrial culture can provide significant competitive advantages to that region's companies. By comparing and contrasting the differences between how business works on Route 128 in Massachusetts, and in Silicon Valley in California, Saxenian reveals why Silicon Valley has become synonymous with high technology, and why few people have even heard about Route 128. A detailed examination of the two models introduces readers to the innovative practices which have lead to many of Silicon Valley's innovations. Regional Advantage is a treasure chest for executives keen on improving their external relations with suppliers, subcontractors, customers and even their competitors.
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