Silicon Valley: A Cradle of Management Innovation

Book chapter, 2016

Here we take a fresh look at Silicon Valley, exploring it as a hub of management innovation, not just new technology. The chapter focuses on the management of large and growing firms as opposed to startups. We see that new ways of managing have emerged in the Valley due to two main influences: the region’s leadership in information technologies—which both demand and enable rapid change—and the entrepreneurial culture of the region. The chapter also describes the high degrees of networking and collaboration in Silicon Valley, along with the companies’ intense “people focus,” which entails recruiting and managing entrepreneurial employees. A brief history of the Bay Area shows how new management approaches grew from new thinking that emerged over many years, from the California Gold Rush through the birth of Stanford University and the early electronics industry, to the modern growth of Silicon Valley.