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Abstract
The essay critically examines the prospect of emulating a Silicon Valley-style regional development in the post-socialist context of East-Central Europe. It underlines the problematic nature of the Silicon Valley concept itself and examines the way in which the concept has been ‘domesticated’ in Košice, a peripheral region in eastern Slovakia undergoing a painful post-socialist transformation towards the market economy. In doing so, the essay also highlights links between neoliberalism, post-socialism and the knowledge-based economy.
Notes
This essay draws in part on a case study of Košice region, the research for which has been undertaken as part of a much larger TRANSFORM Project (No 022780—Benchmarking and Fostering Transformative Use of ICT in EU Regions) funded by the European Commission's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6—Priority 8.1.B.3.5—Information Society Technologies). I would like to thank all my colleagues on the TRANSFORM consortium for their support. In addition to this, I am indebted to all my interviewees in the Košice region who kindly offered their time and shared invaluable insights. Finally, I would like to thank two anonymous referees and the editors of the collection for their comments. Usual disclaimer applies.
1 For example, Castells (Citation1998); see Sokol (Citation2003) for a full discussion.
2 For example, see Pike et al. (Citation2006, pp. 215–17) for a brief overview.
3 See MacKinnon et al. (Citation2002), Martin and Sunley (Citation2003) and Sokol (Citation2003, Citation2004) for a critical appraisal of these concepts.
4 See KSK (Citation2002); see also KSGR (Citation2006, pp. 97–103).
5 See also Pavlinek and Smith (Citation1998) for a critical perspective on inward investment in the former Czechoslovakia.
6 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
7 Košice IT (Citation2010); see also Geročová (Citation2007).
8 For example, see Balogová (Citation2007), Euractiv.sk (Citation2007), Farbiaková (Citation2007), Košický Korzár (Citation2007), Sobinkovič (Citation2007) and Quark (Citation2007); see also City of Košice (Citation2010, p. 27).
9 Author's interview with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, Košice.
10 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
11 Author's interview with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, Košice.
12 Telephone interview with senior academic D, 16 November 2007, Košice.
13 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
14 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
15 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
16 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
17 Author's interview with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, Košice.
18 Author's interview with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, Košice.
19 See Sokol (Citation2007) for a full discussion of factors.
20 Author's interview with regional development policy maker C, 3 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
21 Author's interview with regional development policy maker A, 2 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
22 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
23 Author's interview with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, Košice.
24 Author's interview with representative of a regional think-tank, 4 October 2007, Košice.
25 Author's interview with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, Košice; author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice. See also, Sobinkovič (Citation2007).
26 Author's interviews with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, and senior academic C, 4 October 2007, both in Košice; see also Sobinkovič (Citation2007) and IT News (Citation2007).
27 Telephone interview with senior academic D, 16 November 2007, Košice.
28 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007.
29 Author's interview with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, Košice.
30 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
31 Author's interview with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, Košice.
32 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
33 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
34 Author's interview with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, Košice, and telephone interview with senior academic D, 16 November 2007, Košice.
35 Author's interview with senior academic A, 2 October 2007, Košice.
36 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
37 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
38 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
39 Author's interview with senior academic C, 4 October 2007, Košice.
40 Author's interview with regional development policy maker A, 2 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
41 Author's interview with regional development policy maker C, 3 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
42 Author's interview with regional development policy maker C, 3 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
43 Author's interview with senior academic B, 2 October 2007, Košice.
44 Author's interview with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, Košice.
45 Author's interview with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, Košice.
46 Author's interview with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, Košice; see also Sobinkovič (Citation2007) and Farbiaková (Citation2007); see also Pástor (Citation2007) for a brief overview of the IT sector in Slovakia.
47 Author's interview with representative of IT firm, 2 October 2007, Košice.
48 Author's interview with senior academic A, 2 October 2007, Košice.
49 Author's interview with representative of a regional think-tank, 4 October 2007, Košice.
50 Author's interviews with senior academic A, 2 October 2007, Košice; representative of a regional think-tank, 4 October 2007, Košice; and regional development policy maker B, 4 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
51 Author's interview with regional development policy maker B, 4 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
52 Author's interview with representative of a regional think-tank, 4 October 2007, Košice.
53 Author's interview with senior academic A, 2 October 2007, Košice.
54 Author's interview with senior academic B, 2 October 2007, Košice.
55 Author's interview with senior academic B, 2 October 2007, Košice.
56 Author's interview with senior academic B, 2 October 2007, Košice.
57 Author's interview with regional development policy maker B, 4 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
58 Author's interview with regional development policy maker B, 4 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
59 Author's interview with regional development policy maker B, 4 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
60 Author's interview with regional development policy maker B, 4 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
61 Author's interview with regional development policy maker B, 4 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
62 Author's interview with regional development policy maker B, 4 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
63 Author's interview with regional development policy maker B, 4 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
64 Author's interview with senior academic A, 2 October 2007, Košice.
65 Author's interview with senior academic A, 2 October 2007, Košice.
66 Author's interview with regional development policy maker B, 4 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
67 Author's interview with regional development policy maker B, 4 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
68 Author's interview with regional development policy maker B, 4 October 2007, Košice Self-Governing Region.
69 See also Hodgson (Citation1999).
