This thesis aims to investigate local conditions of high-tech industry development in the Portland/Vancouver CMSA. To do so, the research proceeds in four major stages. First, it is analyzed how historical factors contributed to the rise of high-tech industries in the CMSA. The second part consists of mapping the distribution pattern of hightech establishments. The U.S. Bureau of Census' County Business Patterns statistics are used to calculate the number of high-tech establishments and employees by branch (SIC code) and county; two high-tech directories help to identify the exact firm locations. Thirdly, an explanatory set of locational factors is established, based on interviews with various regional and local economic development agencies and on a review of relevant economic theories. Finally, the impact of state and local policies on high-tech firm locational decisions is elaborated. The development of high-tech industries in the Portland/Vancouver CMSA can be divided up into three phases. While the first phase (1945 to 1974) is mainly distinguished by local entrepreneurship, the second phase (1975 to 1984) is characterized by an in-migration of high-tech firms headquartered outside the Pacific Northwest. Beginning in 1985 (phase III), Japanese high-tech investment became the most significant growth factor. High-tech establishments are not evenly distributed over the metropolitan area, but their locations are rather marked by distinctive clusters. Recent high-tech industry development is largely a suburban phenomenon, avoiding inner-city areas and the CMSA's eastside with its traditional metalworking industry base. Most Californian and foreign-owned high-tech companies have established only standardized branch production and assembly facilities in the Portland/Vancouver CMSA to take advantage of low business costs. Although the high quality of life enables high-tech firms to recruit easily scientific, engineering, and technical personnel to the CMSA, the majority of companies has not yet set up R&D centers. Main reason is the missing link to a prominent research university nearby. Therefore, state and local policies have shifted their focus from attracting foreign branch plants to improving the quality of educational institutions.

The theme of high-technology economic base and regional development, around which this research is based, has been receiving increased attention from policy-makers and researchers in recent years. This partly reflects the reappraisal of the emerging structural changes which have been stimulated by the negative effects of the economic recessions of the past decade. It also reflects the rapid growth and expansion of high-technology firms in centers like the well-publicized Silicon Valley in California, Route 128 in Massachusetts, and the Research Triangle in North Carolina. Promoting a high-technology economic base thus has been widely adopted as a regional development policy for the 1980s. The objective of this research is to examine and analyze those attributes of the regional economy that contribute to the start-up and expansion of high-technology activity. It is hypothesized that the forces determining where new firms will locate are different from those determining whether existing firms expand, contract, or move. This study utilizes the product life cycle model as the conceptual framework, and seeks to identify factors and conditions which are critical in determining the growth and locational patterns of high technology firms. To address the suggested hypotheses, this study involves an analysis of the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas covering the period from 1976 to 1984. High-technology firms were selected as those Standard Industrial Classifications (SICs) with a proportion of technology-oriented workers equal to or greater than the average for all manufacturing industries, and whose ratios of R&D expenditures to sales were close to or above average for all industries. Data on birth rates, closure rates, expansion rates, contraction rates, and net change in number of firms were used as dependent variables in the analysis. Independent variables were various measures of high-technology employment, total employment, venture capital, research and development, average housing price, state corporate tax rate, tax effort, average manufacturing wage, industrial incentive, transportation access, climate index, effective property tax rate, unitary tax, and U.S. regions. A descriptive analysis of the geographic variations in dependent variables, and tests of significance to determine if there are differences in values among U.S. census regions, is reported. The result showed that high-technology firms growth rate is not distributed evenly across the regions. The regional differences in high-tech growth rates are largely due to differences in birth rates. The West South Central, Pacific, and South Atlantic regions have the highest birth rates of high-technology firms; while New England States and Northeast regions have the lowest birth rates of high-tech firms. Expansion and closure rates parallel the same pattern as birth rates, while contraction rates are relatively consistent in all regions. Multiple regression analysis was employed to test the relationships between dependent and independent variables. Results showed that high levels of high-technology employment were not positively associated with the growth rate of high-technology firms. The high-tech employment variable, however, did not distinguish between the proportion of low and high-tech occupations among high-tech industry grouping and, therefore, may not represent the availability of highly skilled labor. The wage rate variable, which reflects skill levels, indicates a positive relationship with birth and closure rates. This result is an indication that a high level of wage is positively associated with high-tech birth as well as closure, suggesting that the causal relationship may be operating in the opposite direction. That is, high-technology activity drives up wage rates thereby reflecting probable skill levels. Moreover, it appears that high-technology firms are less sensitive to wage rates. Housing price is both positively related and statistically significant to expansion rates. This did not, however imply that the cost of housing may be a cause for expansion, but rather may represent a growth pressure on the housing supply due to job location. Furthermore, from the results presented in this study, factors such as venture capital, industrial incentives, amenities, and transportation accessibility were found to have very low or negligible association with the growth rate of high-technology firms. Other location factors, such as taxes, were negatively related. The research findings of this study tended not to support the product cycle model. On the basis of these findings, the present research suggests caution in using the product cycle model for interpreting and explaining the development of high-technology complexes. This study concludes that there may be a need to incorporate market, time and place oriented concept to future study that will contribute more to the understanding of high technology development so that communities seeking to attract high-technology firms can understand the stages of a company's growth, the products it makes, the type of work force it employs, and the attributes of the area.

This thesis examines city conditions that attract high tech companies in Canada and the United States, gives an insight into the high tech industry in Richmond, analyses factors that determine the location of high tech in the City of Richmond, and identifies possible actions that the City of Richmond could take to attract high technology. The problem statement focuses on factors that determine the location of high tech industries in North American cities, generally, and in the City of Richmond, specifically. The thesis' methodology consists of a literature review, survey and interview research, statistical analysis, and policies and zoning regulations review. The economic and planning literature have provided better understanding of the definition of high tech industry, the types of high technology clusters, and the locational factors affecting the spatial distribution of high tech companies. Both the survey and the interview questions have focused on the effective methods of attracting high tech industries, the conditions making high tech industries successful in the surveyed cities, the development characteristics supporting high tech industries, the development tools used by the cities in practice, and the current effective planning approaches to high technology. The statistical analysis and the review of policies and zoning regulations have provided an insight into the number and size of the high tech companies located in the city of Richmond, as well as into Richmond's policies related to high technology. This thesis finds that high tech industries are foot - loose industries that often change locations due to factors, such as better tax climate, availability of an educated workforce, and post - secondary institutions presence. As a result, there is no standard framework to explain the locational pattern of high technology. However, this thesis identifies two sets of locational factors - general and specific - that are decisive for high technology today. There is an obvious requirement for general locational factors, such as a skilled workforce, post-secondary educational institutions proximity, linkages to other industries, good public transit, good quality business parks, higher building densities, and affordable housing. The specific locational factors depend on the type of high tech sector, and they are required by certain high tech sectors, such as biotechnology. The locational factors revealed by this thesis do not represent a framework that is applicable to all communities that aim to attract high tech businesses. However, the findings of this thesis present valid information for any community to consider before pursuing high tech policies and programs. In addition, this thesis leads to recommendations regarding the steps that communities could undertake in order to develop successful high tech policies and programs.

This thesis examines city conditions that attract high tech companies in Canada and the United States, gives an insight into the high tech industry in Richmond, analyses factors that determine the location of high tech in the City of Richmond, and identifies possible actions that the City of Richmond could take to attract high technology. The problem statement focuses on factors that determine the location of high tech industries in North American cities, generally, and in the City of Richmond, specifically. The thesis' methodology consists of a literature review, survey and interview research, statistical analysis, and policies and zoning regulations review. The economic and planning literature have provided better understanding of the definition of high tech industry, the types of high technology clusters, and the locational factors affecting the spatial distribution of high tech companies. Both the survey and the interview questions have focused on the effective methods of attracting high tech industries, the conditions making high tech industries successful in the surveyed cities, the development characteristics supporting high tech industries, the development tools used by the cities in practice, and the current effective planning approaches to high technology. The statistical analysis and the review of policies and zoning regulations have provided an insight into the number and size of the high tech companies located in the city of Richmond, as well as into Richmond's policies related to high technology. This thesis finds that high tech industries are foot - loose industries that often change locations due to factors, such as better tax climate, availability of an educated workforce, and post - secondary institutions presence. As a result, there is no standard framework to explain the locational pattern of high technology. However, this thesis identifies two sets of locational factors - general and specific - that are decisive for high technology today. There is an obvious requirement for general locational factors, such as a skilled workforce, post-secondary educational institutions proximity, linkages to other industries, good public transit, good quality business parks, higher building densities, and affordable housing. The specific locational factors depend on the type of high tech sector, and they are required by certain high tech sectors, such as biotechnology. The locational factors revealed by this thesis do not represent a framework that is applicable to all communities that aim to attract high tech businesses. However, the findings of this thesis present valid information for any community to consider before pursuing high tech policies and programs. In addition, this thesis leads to recommendations regarding the steps that communities could undertake in order to develop successful high tech policies and programs. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph.D)--Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Hicks, Diana; Committee Member: Clark, Jennifer; Committee Member: Green Leigh, Nancey; Committee Member: Rogers, Juan; Committee Member: Shapira, Philip. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

This study aims to elucidate firm and performance attributes of a population of small, elite firms that assume prominent positions in their respective technological spaces and product markets. More specifically, this study addresses the role and impact of industrial agglomeration on the location and performance characteristics of serial innovator firms. The dissertation was conceived as a collection of three distinct but related essays. The first essay on the geographical location of firms with high levels of innovative prowess i.e. serial innovator firms vis-à-vis technology clusters and research universities indicates that these firms are not necessarily located in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) with higher average levels of industry clustering than non-serial innovator firms of similar size. Serial innovator firms and their less innovative counterparts appear to have the same need and capacity to absorb knowledge spillovers in technology clusters. Further analysis, however, revealed that serial innovator firms in the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology and IT hardware industries are located in MSA's with significantly higher levels of regional specialization than non-serial innovator firms in that industry which suggests an asymmetric need for knowledge spillovers by these firms. Furthermore, serial innovator firms seem to be located in MSA's with a significantly higher number of research universities than a non-serial innovator firm although differences across industries can be noted. This again indicates an asymmetric use and need for academic knowledge spillovers and pecuniary advantages offered by these institutions. The analysis in the second essay reveals that serial innovator firms located in MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) with elevated levels of industrial clustering announce significantly more new products than their counterparts located in MSA areas with low levels of industrial clustering. However, no differences in the pace of technological progress of the technologies developed by serial innovator firms located in technology clusters and those outside of clusters was found. Finally, the research reported in the third essay indicates that the level of industrial agglomeration has a positive impact on the export performance of serial innovator firms and that these firms benefit proportionately more from technology clusters than non-serial innovator firms.