ABSTRACT

To meet the demands of the worldwide market it had created, Silicon Valley generated over 100,000 manufacturing jobs between 1972 and 1980, and by the end of 1984, there were over 2,500 hightech firms employing almost 300,000 people. Even though Silicon Valley firms initiated the semiconductor industry, it was unable to meet the worldwide demand, and American firms depended on foreign firms for their supply of semiconductors. The dramatic decline in market share of various Silicon Valley companies continued in multifarious segments of the electronics industry. During the growth of Silicon Valley firms in the 1970s, hundreds of thousand of jobs were created. During the decline in the 1980s, many jobs were lost and the local economy was battered. Silicon Valley's future in the 21st century depends on its ability to compete differently in the new global market with different sets of rules and different management philosophies.