Understanding Silicon Valley: The Anatomy of an Entrepreneurial RegionWhat has made Silicon Valley so productive of new technologies and new firms? How did its pioneering achievements begin—in computer networking, semiconductors, personal computing, and the Internet—and what forces have propelled its unprecedented growth? This collection of nine chapters by contributors from varied disciplines—business, geography, history, regional planning, and sociology—examines the history, development, and entrepreneurial dynamics of Silicon Valley. Part I, “History,” provides context for the Valley’s success by exploring its early industrial roots. It traces the development of the electronics industry in Silicon Valley back to the founding of Federal Telegraph in 1908, and discusses the role of defense spending and the relationship with Stanford University in the region’s growth. Part II, “Institutions,” emphasizes the importance of supporting institutions and practices in helping Valley startups succeed. Four chapters explore the role of law firms in facilitating the formation of new companies, the evolution of the venture capital industry and its role in funding new firms, the importance of labor mobility, and the significance of close interfirm relationships in the success of Silicon Valley companies. Part III, “General Explanations,” presents three different perspectives on the environment that has made Silicon Valley so successful. The first chapter considers Silicon Valley as an ecosystem of interacting institutions, individuals, and a culture that encourages and nurtures entrepreneurship. The second chapter argues that Silicon Valley should not be seen as a region in which relationships are based on civic virtue, but rather one in which trust is based on performance, which makes it uniquely permeable to new ideas and talented individuals. The final chapter contends that institutions specializing in new firm formation are responsible for Silicon Valley's unique ability to foster technological advances. |
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Page xvii - Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Page 54 - ... serious plans to prepare for it. Inevitably this national spirit will react upon the policies of our educational and research institutions. It always has, and we might just as well face it (...) We shall have to deal with the Army and Navy and make certain concessions in order to meet their needs. Government-sponsored research presents Stanford, and our School of Engineering, with a wonderful opportunity if we are prepared to exploit it, which of course they were. The importance to the military...
Page 25 - MILLIKAN, director of the Norman Bridge Laboratory of Physics and chairman of the executive council of the California Institute of Technology, is on his way to Europe.
Page 71 - By organizational field we mean those organizations that, in the aggregate, constitute a recognized area of institutional life: key suppliers, resource and product consumers, regulatory agencies, and other organizations that produce similar services or products.
Page 47 - Valley was the fastest growing region in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but that growth came out of a place, not a technology.
Page 53 - The war advanced these hopes and brought to the west the beginning of a great new era of industrialization. A strong and independent industry must, however, develop its own intellectual resources of science and technology, for industrial activity that depends upon imported brains and second-hand ideas cannot hope to be more than a vassal that pays tribute to its overlords, and is permanently condemned to an inferior competitive...
Page xvii - Director of the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy at the University of California, Berkeley; he teaches in the joint School of Engineering-Business program on the Management of Technology.
Page 53 - The west has long dreamed of an indigenous industry of sufficient magnitude to balance its agricultural resources. The war advanced these hopes and brought to the west the beginning of a great new era of industrialization. A strong and independent industry must, however, develop its own intellectual resources of science and technology, for industrial activity that depends upon imported brains and second-hand...
Page xvii - Inc., and a member of the business advisory committee of the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE) at the University of California, Berkeley.
Bibliographic information
| Title | Understanding Silicon Valley: The Anatomy of an Entrepreneurial Region Stanford business books |
| Author | Martin Kenney |
| Editor | Martin Kenney |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Stanford University Press, 2000 |
| ISBN | 0804737347, 9780804737340 |
| Length | 285 pages |
| Subjects | › Business & Economics / Corporate & Business History Business & Economics / New Business Enterprises Computers / History Computers / Information Technology Technology & Engineering / Social Aspects |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |