Silicon Valley: too successful? Henry Etzkowitz, Annika Steiber

Focus & Methodology Silicon Valley is a node in a larger comparative project on innovative regions and science parks Research questions were: What is Silicon Valley? To what extent is Silicon valley place bound or sticky? What contribute to the stickiness? What is the primary engine behind Silicon Valley’s innovativeness? Does the Valley have a capability to renew itself and sources for this capability? Data collected through literature review and 20 interviews with key analysts and observers of Silicon Valley Interviews were conducted face2face and over skype and a semi- structured interview guide was used

What is Silicon valley? A dream A label for a social-economic structure A brand and virtual network of multinational corporations with HQ in the Valley A talent pool An Ecosystem A culture A BLOB A geographical place

How has the Valley changed? Geographical boundaries have changed- from Santa Clara county to now North of San Francisco, SF, Peninsula, San Jose, South of San Jose and East bay More heterogeneous both in technologies, national cultures, and in income equality More interconnected to other innovation hubs in the USA and abroad Innovation focus changed from research and technology innovations to business models and application innovations…”the rise of the business people”

Driving forces behind change? More diverse and broader technology portfolio General high attractiveness of the Valley, attracting people all over the world to move to the Valley Local more active government initiatives such as in San Francisco Higher living costs (especially housing costs) Transportation problems- infrastructure Higher income equality Urbanization trend among younger

Place bound- Sticky? Yes and No Yes in the case of culture, momentum, well oiled ecosystem with a collective learning base for creating companies No in the case that new innovation hubs are created both in the USA and abroad

What contributes to its stickiness? Strong entrepreneurial culture Innovation Network, including key client proximity, talent pool, capital, support system in how to build and grow companies, and strong networks between these actors Momentum- Black Hole..a mass effect Brand

Primary engine behind the Valley’s innovativeness and resilience? The larger companies such as Facebook, Google etc. that for their own good need a dynamic and resilient ecosystem populated with excellent people The entrepreneurial culture of the region Entrepreneurial people and people mobility and cross discipline networking The continuity of technology development and the diversity of technology sectors Mentoring VC capital (around 50% of USA VC funding was invested in Silicon Valley in 2015)

Is Silicon Valley Replicable? Bottom up/lateral Top Down Science Park Historical Accident Consequence of Entrepreneurial University Development Strategy