Customer Reviews

Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
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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.

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?

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."

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.

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.

saxenian argues that silicon valley's competitive advantage is the vast network of small firms that compose silicon valley and cross pollinate each other. she compares the valley to the route 128 area in boston which she classifies as detrimentally hierarchical, even puritanical.