The Silicon Valley Edge: A Habitat for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

About the Book

The enormous and sustained success of Silicon Valley has excited interest around the globe. Startup companies the world over are attempting to emulate its high tech businesses, and many governments are changing their institutions in order to foster Silicon Valleys of their own. What accounts for the Valley s leading edge in innovation and entrepreneurship? This book gives an answer by insiders, by prominent business leaders and academics from the heart of the Valley. They argue that what distinguishes the Valley is not its scientific advances or technological breakthroughs. Instead, its edge derives from a habitat or environment that is tuned to turn ideas into products and take them rapidly to market by creating new firms.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. The Silicon Valley habitat Chong-Moon Lee, William F. Miller, Marguerite Gong Hancock and Henry S. Rowen 2. Mysteries of the region: knowledge dynamics in Silicon Valley John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid Part I. Silicon Valley Today: 3. A profile of the Valley's evolving structure Doug Henton 4. Life in Silicon Valley: a first-hand view of the region's growth E. Floyd Kvamme 5. Innovation in business models T. Michael Nevens 6. Four styles of Valley entrepreneurship Chong-Moon Lee 7. Changing everything: the Internet revolution and Silicon valley Steve Jurvetson Part II. The Evolution of Silicon Valley: 8. Fairchild semiconductor and its influence Christopher Le;cuyer 9. Serendipity or strategy: how technology and markets came to favor Silicon Valley Henry S. Rowen 10. The role of Stanford University: a Dean's reflections James Gibbons 11. Social networks in Silicon Valley' Emilio J. Castilla, Hokyu Hwang, Ellen Granovetter and Mark Granovetter 12. Networks of immigrant entrepreneurs Annalee Saxeninan Part III. A Clustered Community: 13. Venture capitalists: the coaches of Silicon Valley Thomas F. Hellmann 14. The valley of deals: how venture capital helped shape the region P. Banatao and Kevin A. Fong 15. Fueling the revolution: commercial bank financing John C. Dean 16. Advising the new economy: the role of lawyers Craig W. Johnson 17. Shepherding the faithful: the influence of executive search firms Thomas J. Friel 18. Guiding the innovators: why accountants are valued James D. Atwell 19. Free advice: consulting the Silicon Valley way Regis McKenna Afterword: sustaining the edge Chong-Moon Lee, William F. Miller, Marguerite Gong Hancock and Henry S. Rowen Notes References Index.

About the Author :
Chong-Moon Lee is Chairman and CEO of AmBex Venture Group and Consulting Professor of the Asia/Pacific Research Center, Stanford University. William F. Miller is Herbert Hoover Professor of Public and Private Management Emeritus at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Marguerite Gong Hancock is Project Manager of the Silicon Valley Networks Project at Stanford University. Henry S. Rowen is Professor of Public Policy and Management Emeritus at the Graduate School of Business and Director of the Asia/Pacific Research Center at Stanford University.

Review :
"Must reading for anyone who wants to understand the driving point for the New Economy. It's especially gratifying to learn the story directly from some of the Valley's key figures." - John Young, retired CEO, Hewlett-Packard "To emulate, one must first understand. This book is an essential guide for communities and individuals worldwide trying to understand and emulate this startling phenomenon known as Silicon Valley. It shows that by harnessing the power of abundant ideas, 'Silicon Valley' has become not just a place but a culture and a state of mind." - Vinod Khosla, General Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers "While a number of books have been written on Silicon Valley, this one is unequaled in combining observation and analysis by both scholars and key practitioners. Fine reading for scholars and sophisticated laypersons alike." - Richard R. Nelson, Columbia University