US high technology multinationals and Silicon Glen

Abstract

Haug P. (1986) US high technology multinationals and Silicon Glen, Reg. Studies 20, 103–116. Future growth and investment by high technology industries have generated increasing interest in the agglomeration tendencies of high technology firms. Governments throughout the world are seeking to develop high technology firm concentrations similar to Silicon Valley in California. An area that represents one of the largest high technology industry clusters outside the United States is Scotland's Silicon Glen. This article is based on interviews conducted at fourteen US-owned manufacturing plants in Silicon Glen and sets out to: (1) define the terms high technology industry and Silicon Glen; (2) summarize research on the origins of Silicon Valley, Boston's Route 128, Silicon Fen or the Cambridge Phenomenon, and the M4 Corridor near London; and (3) present evidence on the location and investment activities of US multinational enterprises in Silicon Glen. The results indicate that the attributes attracting high technology multinationals to Silicon Glen were different from those found in the genesis of other silicon landscapes, but that Silicon Glen now represents a high technology agglomeration providing the same specialized resources available to high technology firms in Silicon Valley, Boston's Route 128, Silicon Fen, and the M4 Corridor.