The New Argonauts: Regional Advantage in a Global Economy

The aurhor has studied for the last twenty years or so the development of the silicon industry from the persepctive of regional growth and development experiences. Her previous published work was concerned mostly with cases within the United States. This book is about a related area but this time ilustrated from the international context of native entrepenurs comming back home after an educational and job experience abroad in techologically advanced industries. It is a well articulated analysis and a rich fountain of examples for regional development policies for developing nations who want to take advantage of the return migration of their human capital which has in the past years gained professional skills, valuable contacts and rich employment experiences abroad. The book is well written and provides valuable clues on the success and nature of recent industrialization processes in some middle income countries. A valuable buy for people working in the fields of economic growth, planning, economic development and techological change.

AnnaLee Saxenian has a clear vision of how the global economy is being transformed. Like Jason's mythic quest for the Golden Fleece, the new economic landscape is being conquered less by policy makers, global investors, and multinational corporate behemoths than by legions of modern day Argonauts - technically skilled entrepreneurs from many nations who "sail" back and forth between their home countries and their other home in Silicon Valley. Traditional economic worldviews assumed that the success of companies and countries from peripheral 20th century economies - Taiwan, China, India, Israel - were destined to build on the successes and advancements of leading edge G8 economies (U.S., Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Russia). These worldviews anticipated a constant brain drain from the trailing economies to the leading economies, assuming talent would aggregate and then remain where the opportunity was. And, until recently, there was plenty of evidence for this view. Not anymore. Today's global economic reality has turned this worldview on its ear - or at the very least forced a serious revision. The percentage of talent who come to the U.S. to be educated and then remain here to work has reversed - to spell it out: More people are returning to their homes to seek opportunity, even after many years in the U.S. One current worry is that the U.S. now faces a brain drain as these technologically astute entrepreneurs exit our economy. Saxenian discovered that what we're experiencing is not a brain drain but a "brain circulation." Many, often two or more from the same country, are founding companies that think globally from day one. Rather than just competing on low cost - the traditional assumption of competitive advantage - they have mainly pursued strategic, innovative, value added trajectories all the while maintaining close ties to Silicon Valley relationships, technology and markets. Instead of attempting to reproduce Silicon Valley back home, these Argonauts are establishing complementary versions of Silicon Valley, each with its specialization. This has effectively given rise to a global technology business ecosystem. Within this system, the Argonauts are able to locate foreign partners as needed, manage complex organizations across cultures and languages, circulate know-how, and attract talent and capital. On top of which they make significant contributions to world-class education and research. Read the entire review at http://insidework.net/resources/readinglist/entry-0000013647

AnnaLee Saxenian has long been a follower of localized firm and professional networks in the hi-tech industry, highlighting their superiority over corporate hierarchies in her book "Regional Advantage." More recently, in "The New Argonauts," she has turned to ethnic professional networks in Silicon Valley, especially in the Indian, Chinese and Israeli communities. These networks, originally founded for social purposes, evolved to become professional networks for advice, capital and know-how for immigrant entrepreneurs. As immigrant entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley identified business opportunities in their home countries, the networks extended to support these new ventures. They also tied into their home-countries' networks through alumni associations and family ties. Thus, organizations that were once highly localized began to reach across continents - and their benefits with them. Access to tacit knowledge (technical and managerial), a common understanding of entrepreneurship, shared language and culture have all been considered factors that are bound by geography and contribute to the success of regional economies. Now, they are transcending vast distances thanks to the kinds of networks described by Saxenian. New "Argonauts" (people who work in two or more regions, shuttling back and forth several times per month) literally carry market and technological knowledge, contacts, business models and capital around the world. As a result, "Silicon Valley, once the uncontested technology leader, is now integrated into a dynamic network of specialized and complementary regional economies. These new technology regions are not replicas of Silicon Valley, nor are they becoming new Silicon Valleys [...] Even as the returnees seek to use their experience in Silicon Valley to reshape these institutions, distinctive regional and national histories ensure that the identities and technology trajectories of these regions are unlikely to converge." Saxenian emphasizes the role of entrepreneurial networks over multinational enterprises. Multinationals have traditionally been seen as the prime diffusers of new technologies to "following" economies. In Saxenian's view, they will be supplanted here, as they were in the U.S. hi-tech industry.

Excellent view of Silicon Valley's now and future in the Flat world! This author is excel in comparing Silicon Valley with new 'Want be Silicon Valley' regions. Especially her comments on the differentiators that are based on lot of interviews are extremely valuable for these challengers. In summery, openness, strong wishes to keep in the leading edge that the author viewed as Silicon Valley excel are the true differentiators of the region from many others.