Introduction

We developed the idea for this book based on our collaboration to educate ESCP-EAP (European School of Management sponsored by the Paris Chamber of Commerce) MBA students about the New Economy. Together, we launched a program combining a seminar with transporting the students from Paris to Silicon Valley to hear the perspectives of what we are calling "entrepreneurial champions ," who were actively working in the high-tech economy.

We were very impressed by the speakers' insight and candor. The participants were gratified by both the presentations and the "give and take" question and answer periods with the speakers .

Ironically, the speakers, who were all very busy and only committed to half- hour presentations, would inevitably stay much longer because the opportunity to tell the story of how their organizations were part of the New Economy that was transforming business practices was gratifying for them as well. So, we learned that highly placed and active players in a region would be enthusiastic to speak about transformations in their market, and to share their insights in how to be successful.

This book is our attempt to replicate and expand that process by providing the reader with some of the principles and changed practices, through the perspectives of worldwide entrepreneurial champions, to help understand the dynamics of the Innovation Economy (IE).

We have selected regions that are varied in size , success, geography, and focus in the IE. These are markets we knew best and for which we had access to highly placed individuals. So this effort is not an attempt to be either comprehensive or evaluative of regions for inclusion. However, when taken together, these nine markets, are representative of the trends, and important areas of focus about which regions, companies, and individuals who wish to successfully plug into the IE should become knowledgeable. We do not evaluate or rank one region over another. Our thesis is that they are all linked and create value and wealth together in a way never before possible. While some of these regions have been more successful than others in generating wealth and opportunity for their people, the people we have selected each have important lessons to teach. In conversations with these regional champions, we have been impressed and humbled by the way these individuals demonstrated initiative, intelligence, and a " can-do " attitude that is quite extraordinary. Collectively, they are a vanguard in utilizing technologies to create wealth for themselves , their industries, and their regions.

This begs a question that is implicit in all of our study. There are regions of the world which to date have been left out of this extraordinary economic transformation. Much of Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia are not major players in the IE. In the global struggle subsequent to the events of September 11, 2001, the issue of making regional wealth becomes even more critical to world stability. The overarching regional characteristics that we heard over and over again are that attitude, culture, and societal structure are major factors that determine success in the IE. We hope that these factors will continue to spread throughout the world so the wealth creation will be more equitable.

Here is a personal story to illustrate how that process can happen. It is written in a style that we will replicate throughout the book with the dozens of profiles we have documented. Each person will be named and their comments will be excerpted and edited so they tell their story or insights with their own style and idioms.

Author's Perspective

The power of globalization to change the world: extending the classroom

Each semester I teach marketing courses at San Francisco State University's Graduate School of Business. Most of the students are foreign nationals who come to learn American business practices, so they can apply them in their home countries .

The case study method of free and open exploration of problems and opportunities in specific business situations is a proven way to bring marketing and management principles to life. I frequently gain insights from the discussion of case studies with my students. Their insights sometimes reveal greater significance than just the solutions to a business issue. Living and studying in a free-spirited, ever-changing, and cosmopolitan region such as the San Francisco Bay Area frequently helps to transform these students. Many want to go back to their home countries and change their world. These lessons then extend the classroom to many regions and societies .

Here is an example of one of them . . .

Competition can set you free

I introduced a video case study and a Wall Street Journal article on the MTV phenomena and how it had swept the globe, capturing the attention and discretionary funds of teens everywhere. The students' attention perked up as we discussed the worldwide appeal to teens of MTV and their emergent demand for products such as Levi's jeans and Nike athletic shoes. I posed the question as to whether this was creating a universal solidarity based on music and teen identity or whether it was American cultural imperialism. Was this a good thing for Chinese and Thai teens and their societies?

The discussion was lively. A young mainland Chinese woman named Szeyuan spoke up for the first time in my class. She said it was a good thing that Chinese young people could now buy Levi's and Nike in China. She explained that the Chinese government has never had to compete for anything in China. Maybe if they compete with Levi's for jeans, then they will have to compete for other things as well.

After two or three years of graduate business school, Szeyuan and thousands of other foreign students who attend our universities will go back and demand fundamental changes in the way their countries and economies are managed. In some small but significant way, through the globalization of business education, we are bringing the world closer together. This is not so everyone feels the need to wear Nike or Levi's, or to use American technology. Rather, because the creation of regional wealth, at its best, helps to initiate the successful businesses and organizations that provide people with the opportunity to make choices about how they wish to pursue happiness and enhance their lives.

” Jeff Saperstein

In the academic year ending in June 2001, there were almost 550,000 foreign students attending U.S. colleges and universities, with nearly 11% coming from China alone. These students were trained and acculturated in American attitudes and practices. Most will return to their native countries and many will become a powerful influence in the creation of regional wealth. This cross-cultural transfer of knowledge and best practices is driven by both universities and multilocation corporations.

Through the perspectives of successful entrepreneurial champions, who have actively helped to create wealth in their regions, we profile multinational and start-up companies, regional and local governments , venture capital sources, educational institutions, and incubators to illustrate these principles in action across a broad array of cultures and economic circumstances.

We will synthesize their management wisdom and experience through extensive interviews focusing on the success factors that have leveraged their regional competitiveness in the IE. Our hope is that their wisdom and examples will provide a deeper understanding of the changes this economy is bringing and the opportunity for other regions of the world and businesses to profit from what they have learned and done.