TY - JOUR

T1 - Reasons for the genesis of high-tech regions

T2 - Theoretical explanation and empirical evidence

AU - Sternberg, Rolf

N1 - Copyright: Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 1996/2/26

Y1 - 1996/2/26

N2 - Since the beginning of the eighties, regional technology and development policies in industrialized countries have pursued, among other things, the goal of attracting and supporting high-tech industries. Very often high-tech regions, such as legendary Silicon Valley, Calif., or Route 128, Mass., served as models. But there are high-tech regions in other industrialized countries, too. This paper analyses the reasons for the genesis of seven high-tech regions in Germany (Munich), France (Grenoble); Great Britain ('Western Crescent' west of London, Cambridgeshire), Japan (Kyushu) and the U.S.A. ('Silicon Valley', 'Research Triangle'). These reasons will be set against some of the most popular theories claiming to explain technology-based regional growth. None of the theoretical approaches are suitable to help explain unambiguously the causes of the development of individuals, let alone all of the high-tech regions discussed here. Each one has specific strengths and weaknesses. An 'eclectic' theory, which combines convincing aspects of the above-mentioned theories, may offer the best approach to the problem. One element of such an eclectic approach should be governments' (implicit or explicit) influence on high-tech regions, which was not sufficiently considered by the theories discussed above. The applicability of a revised version of Porter's (1990) system of determinants of national competitiveness to high-tech regions is stressed.

AB - Since the beginning of the eighties, regional technology and development policies in industrialized countries have pursued, among other things, the goal of attracting and supporting high-tech industries. Very often high-tech regions, such as legendary Silicon Valley, Calif., or Route 128, Mass., served as models. But there are high-tech regions in other industrialized countries, too. This paper analyses the reasons for the genesis of seven high-tech regions in Germany (Munich), France (Grenoble); Great Britain ('Western Crescent' west of London, Cambridgeshire), Japan (Kyushu) and the U.S.A. ('Silicon Valley', 'Research Triangle'). These reasons will be set against some of the most popular theories claiming to explain technology-based regional growth. None of the theoretical approaches are suitable to help explain unambiguously the causes of the development of individuals, let alone all of the high-tech regions discussed here. Each one has specific strengths and weaknesses. An 'eclectic' theory, which combines convincing aspects of the above-mentioned theories, may offer the best approach to the problem. One element of such an eclectic approach should be governments' (implicit or explicit) influence on high-tech regions, which was not sufficiently considered by the theories discussed above. The applicability of a revised version of Porter's (1990) system of determinants of national competitiveness to high-tech regions is stressed.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0030437594&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/0016-7185(96)00007-3

DO - 10.1016/0016-7185(96)00007-3

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:0030437594

VL - 27

SP - 205

EP - 223

JO - GEOFORUM

JF - GEOFORUM

SN - 0016-7185

IS - 2

ER -