Learning from the Silicon Valley and implications for technological leapfrogging the experience of Malaysia

Abstract

Innovation plays a crucial role in the evolution of high-tech clusters which are invoked as a strategy for sustainable industrialisation and economic growth. Over the last five decades, the Silicon Valley in California has emerged as the most successful high-tech cluster in the world. Not surprisingly, policymakers, regional planners and real-estate developers elsewhere in the world have sought to emulate its success. Malaysia’s answer to the Silicon Valley is the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), which was launched in 1995 with the aim to create a knowledge-based economy through technological leapfrogging. Is the MSC a mere ‘top-down’ planning exercise that is out of sync with the needs of the Malaysian economy, or does it represent a strategic way forward for Malaysia to catch up on technologically advanced countries? This paper examines the rationale, implementation and progress of the MSC, the issues arising from the MSC experience and the implications for other developing countries.

The role of universities in the evolution of the Triple Helix culture of innovation network: The case of Malaysia

“…There is evidence from the fieldwork supporting the claim that universities in Malaysia have good, credible and capable researchers (Malairaja 2003). Most respondents stated that universities in Malaysia are striving to establish active relationships with the industry.…”

“…There is some evidence of entrepreneurial behaviour in Malaysian universities, as, for example, in the establishment of USains Holdings (the university's commercial arm) by the Universiti Sains Malaysia (Malairaja 2003). Almost all top public universities in Malaysia now have their own technology transfer offices (TTO).…”

Organizing practices of university, industry and government that facilitate (or impede) the transition to a hybrid triple helix model of innovation

“…A typical example is the establishment of USains Holdings, which is In a recent national innovation survey, only a fraction of firms reported having co-operation in innovation activities with either universities or government research institutions [46,80]. Like many other developing countries, our review of policy documents, innovation reports and the existing scholarly literature shows that Malaysia, is presently attempting to attain some form of the hybrid triple helix variant, but has not transitioned fully to the hybrid triple helix model of innovation [18,19,47,81]. The objective of Malaysia as suggested by AbdRazak and Saad [47] was to become the innovation hub of East Asia that could boast of university spin-off firms, R&D centres, and incubators all linked together through external global collaboration, research networks, and linkages where the knowledge produced could be applied to advanced science and technology problems facing both industrialized and developing countries.…”

From ‘wannabe’ Silicon Valley to global back office? Examining the socio‐spatial consequences of technopole planning practices in Malaysia

“…The creation of a proposed 'innovative milieu' (Camagni, 1991) would -according to Mahathir and various consultants planning the project -enable the country to 'leapfrog' up the development chain and promote Malaysia as an investible location for global capitalism (Malairaja, 2004). A range of financial incentives were provided to attract firms, and in return the government specified that companies allowed to locate in Cyberjaya would be research intensive and would transfer skills and technologies to local companies.…”

“…A range of financial incentives were provided to attract firms, and in return the government specified that companies allowed to locate in Cyberjaya would be research intensive and would transfer skills and technologies to local companies. The creation of a proposed 'innovative milieu' (Camagni, 1991) would -according to Mahathir and various consultants planning the project -enable the country to 'leapfrog' up the development chain and promote Malaysia as an investible location for global capitalism (Malairaja, 2004). 1 All this was to take off from Cyberjaya in an exclusive garden-city-styled locale that was to 'hot-house' a culture of innovation and creativity.…”