Contrasting Patterns of Business Organization in Silicon Valley

Abstract

The industrialists of Silicon Valley have pioneered two divergent political strategies in recent decades: one is an attempt to improve the competitive position of local firms by lobbying for supportive trade and technology policies, the other is an attempt to enhance the flexibility of the specialist producers in the region by providing collective services that promote the innovative recombination of resources. These contrasting patterns of organization reflect the hybrid structure of the local economy, and political conflicts in the region highlight divergent understandings of the proper forms of governance for a flexible regional economy. This case underscores the openness of regional and industrial trajectories, and suggests the importance of analyzing the political, as well as the purely economic, determinants of industrial strategies and regional outcomes.