Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128, with a New Preface by the Author

by AnnaLee Saxenian

Book Overview

Why is it that in the '90s, business in California's Silicon Valley flourished, while along Route 128 in Massachusetts it declined? The answer, Annalee Saxenian suggests, has to do with the fact that despite similar histories and technologies, Silicon Valley developed a decentralized but cooperative industrial system while Route 128 came to be dominated by independent, self-sufficient corporations. The result of more than one hundred interviews, this...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674753402
• ISBN13: 9780674753402
• Release Date: March 1996
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Very informative, great piece of work

The book is written by a person who lived in the Route 128 area and in the Silicon Valley. Besides the great insights and fantastic scholarly work, the book reflects the experience of seeing the development of both regions, not only through the eyes of a scholar, but also through the experiences that can only be gained by "being there."

Excellent Structural Analysis

Contrary to one of the other reviewer's comments, the importance of this book is in showing precicely that it is not the "endemic" culture of Silicon Valley, but rather the innovative institutions and networked relationships in Silicon Valley that explains the region's success. A great contribution to the literature on embeddedness and network forms of organization.

Very well written, easy to follow and insightful.

Although she is a bit partial to the Silicon Valley area, the author presents the information in a very "down to earth", easy to read fashion - not too technical or too dry.

Superb analysis of the phenomenal success of Silicon Valley.

A brilliant and thought-provoking analysis of the subtle factors which created the phenomenal economic success of Silicon Valley. While Stanford and Berkeley are acknowledged as obvious contributors, Professor Saxenian builds a compelling case for the critical role of ethnic diversity, a taste for risk and an endemic disrespect for authority. If you care about your economic future, read this.

A great examination of the influences of business-culture

This book was recommended to me by a VP at Sun Microsystems to explain why Silicon Valley happened [open-org-networks and strong entrepreneurial initiatives] and how other communities can learn from this success. The answers to why and why-not for a community are found embedded in the local or regional business culture. How close-minded is your town?