ABSTRACT

The electronics manufacturing complex on the San Francisco Peninsula underwent enormous changes from the 1930s to the early 1970s. In this chapter, the author proposes a richer and more complex interpretation of Silicon Valley’s formation. This interpretation integrates Stuart Leslie’s, Brian Arthur’s, and AnnaLee Saxenian’s contributions into a Marshallian framework. The author's approach draws on the work of Alfred Marshall, Michael Porter, and John Seely Brown. Silicon Valley's electronic system sector, with firms such as Hewlett-Packard, remained comparatively small during this period. Because of its specialization in components and the relative weakness of its electronic system industries, the Valley depended almost exclusively on far-away markets. The mutually-supportive industries, such as microwave tubes and silicon components, were oriented almost exclusively toward the military market and saw their expansion fueled by the growing Federal outlays for research and development and weapon system procurement during the Cold War.