Abstract
Abstract THE BOUNDARYLESS CAREER Beyond Boundaries: Open Labor Markets and Learning in Silicon Valley Annalee Saxenian According to local mythology, William Hewlett, cofounder of the Hewlett-Packard Company, routinely offered the following advice to newcomers to Silicon Valley: “If you want to succeed here you need to be willing to do three things: change jobs often, talk to your competitors, and take risks-even if it means failing.” Speaking with the authority of one of the region’s oldest and most respected entrepreneurs, Hewlett was able to highlight the distinctive features of the labor markets in this northern California region: the pervasiveness of interfirm mobility; the importance of the informal social networks that transcend firm boundaries, and the high rates of firm formation (and failure). Hewlett recognized that successful careers in Silicon Valley are rarely built within the boundaries of a single firm; rather, they are defined by the ability of an individual or a team to define new markets, technologies, products, and applications. As one local semiconductor executive reportedly noted: “Many of us wake up in the morning thinking that we work for Silicon Valley, Inc.”
Keywords
Silicon valleyCompetitor analysisMythologyWork (physics)BusinessEngineeringPublic relationsManagementPolitical scienceMarketingHistoryEconomicsEntrepreneurshipMechanical engineeringFinance
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Publication Info
- Year
- 1996
- Type
- book-chapter
- Pages
- 23-39
- Citations
- 102
- Access
- Closed
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Cite This
AnnaLee Saxenian
(1996).
Beyond Boundaries: Open Labor Markets and Learning in Silicon Valley.
, 23-39.
https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195100143.003.0002
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1093/oso/9780195100143.003.0002