The Cambridge Phenomenon
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This is the third printing of a study first published in February 1985. The study has been internationally acclaimed as a pioneering analysis of university-industry interactions, of high technology business development and of their impact on a local economy, and has exerted considerable influence in business and professional circles.
The 'Cambridge Phenomenon' refers to the process by which hundreds of small high technology businesses have become established in and around Cambridge, England, and in addition to their own continuing growth have attracted to the area other organisations notably in business/financial services and in specialist R&D operations of big companies based elsewhere. High technology accounts directly for more than one eighth of local employment, over double the national average; and the area (with less than 0.5% of the UK population) accounts for more than 5% of national R&D. The city's international prestige, long established academically and architecturally, has acquired a new dimension.
The Phenomenon has continued to thrive since the original fieldwork was undertaken in 1984, and the rate of new firm formation and of aggregate employment growth has remained exceptionally high. But only a few businesses have achieved international significance, and some of the most promising have been acquired, often by foreign companies. The area has so far proved more successful as a breeding ground for high technology entrepreneurs than as an environment in which small companies grow big. Cambridge has emerged as a regional business centre and is one of the most buoyant local economies in the UK. The transformation from an isolated university and market town has brought many benefits but also headaches such as high house prices and traffic congestion. A new planning framework is being developed, but controversy continues as to what volume of growth to accommodate and where.
The preface to this printing discusses these and other issues, such as the continuing, indirect role of the University in underpinning development of the Phenomenon. The new version thus remains internationally relevant in its illumination of key topics concerning technology-based economic development eg
• stimulating start-up and managing growth of high technology firms
ISBN : 0 9510202 0 X • formulation of appropriate physical planning and related policies • interactions between a university and its local economy. Publisher : Segal Quince Wicksteed Author : Format : Paperback: 103 pages This exhibit has a reference ID of CH9789. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History. |
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