1) Global Networked Entrepreneurship proposes linking the world's technopoles (technology hubs) for shared prosperity through international collaboration. Traditionally, research focused on fostering wealth and jobs regionally, but emphasis is now shifting toward global linkages. 2) GNE involves linking talent, technology, capital, and business expertise globally through networks. This allows problems to be solved faster and mistakes minimized. Innovation "boot camps" aim to stimulate entrepreneurial thinking in large corporations. 3) The paper advocates experiential learning programs like an IC2-3M partnership placing executives in incubators to learn global innovation and commercialization first-hand through distributed project teams. The goal is to

1. Global Networked Entrepreneurship:
Linking The World’s Technopoleis
for
Shared Prosperity at Home and Abroad
Dr. David V. Gibson, Senior Research Fellow
and Chris Stiles, Research Associate
IC2Institute
The University of Texas at Austin
ABSTRACT growth.’ In 1983 the passage of the technopolis
law resulting in twenty-year economic
This paper presents Global Networked development plans. In May 1986 the Japanese
Entrepreneurship as a strategy for linking the government approved MITISRegional Research
world’s technopoleis for shared prosperity at Core Concept which called for the establishment
home and abroad. Traditionally research on of 28 research centers or technopoleis. The
technopoleis has focused on fostering regionally- program passed by the Japanese Diet promoted
based technology-intensive wealth and job four types of research facilities (Tatsuno, 1986):
creation. However, increasingly the emphasis,
from the public and private sectors, has shifted 1. Experimental research institutes for
toward international collaboration. This paper joint industrylacademiclgovernment
suggests that as the world’s technopoleis move research
into the 2 lstCentury the linking of talent,
technology, capital, and business know-how 2 . New research training and educational
through global networked entrepreneurship will facilities
become a reality. Furthermore, globally-based
“experiential learning laboratories” will be 3. The creation of conference and
considered fundamentally important to shortened exhibition halls, and data base systems
product development and commercialization for improved access to technical
cycles. information
INTRODUCTION 4. Venture business incubators
Strategies for building and sustaining successful Ample funding and meticulous, long-term plans
high technology regions have been proposed and lead to the emergence of Tsukuba (about 70
implemented worldwide ever since leaders from miles north of Tokyo) and Kansai (outside of
business, government, and academia began to Osaka). While attractive buildings have been
take notice of the wealth creation potential and constructed and beautiful parks landscaped, the
technology spurred growth of such pioneering creation of wealth and high value jobs has not
“technopoleis” as Silicon Valley, California and been as dramatic as expected. While basic
Route #128 Boston, MA (Rogers and Larsen, research has been a primary stated objective in
1984, Botkin, 1986). However, outside of a few these “science cities,” issues of science and
select and important visionaries, such as technology commercializationand return on
Professor Frederick Terman at Stanford investment (ROI) are becoming more
University, these initial and perhaps most pronounced. For example, a ten year survey of
successful technopoleis were not planned nor Kansai revealed there have been no spin-out
were they managed as strategic regions. They
were primarily fostered by entrepreneurial
behavior in universities and in businesses which Some technopoleis are the result of long-term
often led to spin-out and fast-growth companies. planning and varying degrees of public/private
collaboration, such as Tsukuba and Kansai
Japan was one of the first nations to engage in science cities, Japan; Bari, Italy; Sophia-
long-term planning and managed high-tech Antipolis, France; and Raleigh-Durham, North
Carolina.
1060-3425/98 $10.000 1998 IEEE
Proc. 31st Annual Hawaii International 291
Conference on System Sciences

2. companies and no profit for Keihanna Plaza
(Honjo, 1997). And universities in Osaka and
Tokyo are beginning to offer courses in
entrepreneurshipand technology venturing.
Smilor, Gibson, and Kozmetsky (1988) suggest
that four factors are fundamental to the
development of a region as a technopolis leading
to the creation of wealth and high value jobs: (1)
the achievement of scientific preeminence in
technology-based research, ( 2 ) the development
of new technologies for emerging industries, (3)
the attraction and retention of major technology
companies, and (4) the creation and nurturing of
Wheel Framework for Global Networked
Figure 1: The Technopol~s
home-grown technology companies. Many
Entrepreneurship
scholars, practitioners, and government leaders
would argue that three underlying phenomena are
critical and necessary to achieve these four While this paper supports the importance of a
factors: regional focus it also emphasizes the fostering
and leveraging of global linkages through
1. A world-class research university with regionally-based research universities, large and
top programs in emerging technology small companies, local government, and support
areas to train the needed talent and to groups. For the more established as well as
research new and emerging emerging worldwide technopoleis/science cities,
technologies. wealth and job creation in a sustainable
environment increasingly depend on globally
2. A “smart infkastructure” or the linked publidprivate collaboration. A major
managerial, entrepreneurial, legal, challenge facing high tech regions, and the firm’s
financial, manufacturing, sales, and that reside in these regions, is how to effectively
distribution talent and infrastructure and efficiently acquire, transfer, and
needed to commercialize emerging commercializ science and technology-
technologies and innovative business technology that is developed worldwide at
ideas. research universities, federal
laboratoriedinstitutes, and consortia. Often these
3. A high quality of life to attract and R&D facilities are physically and culturally
retain talented people. separate from organizations that seek to apply
and commercialize the technologies.
IC2 Institute researchers offer the framework of
GLOBAL NETWORKED
the Technopolis Wheel to assess the impact of
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
critical components in regionally-basedhigh
technology development (Figure 1). The sectors
are as folIows: Quality education with an
emphasis on the research university, large
companies, start-ups and spin-outs, federal, state. high degree of communication with a system’s
and local government, and support groups. external environments), ( 2 ) opinion leaders
Emphasis i s placed on the importance of regional (individuals who are able to influence other
collaboration as well as competition within and individuals’ attitudes or overt behavior), and (3)
across these sectors. This regional collaboration liaisons (individuals who connect otherwise
is fostered by 1st and 2ndlevel influencers from separate communication networks). The personal
academia, business, and government.* communication networks of first- and second-
level influencers tend to be outward looking and
- global, as opposed to closed and provincial. The
2
First- and second-level influencers are success of GNE is to a large degree dependent on
identified in the communication literature as (1) the networking activities of such influencers from
cosmopolites (individuals who have a relatively different sectors of the technopolis wheel.
292

3. This paper builds on the above perspectives growth, diversification, and new business
while focusing on Globally Networked development.
Entrepreneurship (GNE) and the related concept
of “Innovation Boot Camps.” Technology Talent without ideas is like seed without water.
entrepreneurship as described by IC2Institute in When talent is linked with technology, when
the early 1990s focused on regionally linking people facilitate the push and pull of viable ideas
talent-people, technology-ideas, capital-financial to commercialization,the entrepreneurial process
resources, and business know-how (see Figure is underway. Every dynamic process needs fuel,
2). GNE focuses on having small and emerging and here the fuel is capital. Capital is the catalyst
high tech companies globally linked to talent, in the technology venturing chain reaction.
technology, capital, and know-how through
personal networks and information highways. Know-how is the ability to leverage business or
Ideally such globalization occurs as firms are scientific knowledge by linking talent,
launched and as they grow and not after they are technology, and capital in emerging and
established and large. The Innovation Boot expanding enterprises. It finds and applies
Camp centers on taking seasoned executives out expertise in a variety of areas, making the
of established corporations, locating them in an difference between success and failure. This
entrepreneurial environment, and teaming them expertise, or “smart infrastructure”, involves
nationally and globally. management, marketing, finance, accounting,
production, manufacturing, sales and
“No matter what field you are talking distribution, as well as legal, scientific, and
about - electronics, medical, engineering skills.
education, the environment,
entertainment - the global marketplace GNE argues for the importance of globally
opens up more opportunities than I have sourcing and linking of these sectors as firms are
seen in my lifetime. Very few launched and as they grow. In short, firms do not
generations throughout history, perhaps wait until they dominate local or domestic
not since the Renaissance, have been markets before they go global. Start-up firms
accorded the opportunities this period with specialized technologies use global
provides. It is a profoundly different networks to seek out niche markets and partners.
world.” For example, GNE suggests that while a
regionally-based start-up may have an exciting
Dr. George Kozmetsb, Chairman of the Board, niche technology and exceptional entrepreneurial
ICz Institute, 1993 winner of the National Medal talent it may lack sufficient capital and business
of Technology Quoted in Inc. mazazine, 1996. know-how to market this technology globally.
Perhaps the local market is too competitive or
too small. The challenge is to globally access
talent, technology, capital, and business know-
how as the company struggles to survive and
grow.
Barriers to a global strategy for small start-up
firms that are considered generic to all countries
include:
Figure 2: Critical Success Factors for The small, entrepreneurial staff
Technology-Based Entrepreneurship being pre-occupied with local
markets and challenges
Entrepreneurial talent results from the 0 Limited personnel, resources, and
perception, drive, tenacity, dedication, and hard time
work of special types of individuals-people who Limited tolerance for the added
make things happen. Where there is a pool of challenges a global perspective
such talent, there is opportunity for economic brings such as intellectual property
protection, trade and labor issues
293

4. The challenge of assessing foreign challenges are nurturing the right
opportunities and ignorance of interpersonal skills and being able to
possible benefits as well as assimilate different cultures.”
challenges to a global perspective
Kun-Hee, Lee Sumsung Group
GNE is made possible through globally Chairman on the dedication of
networked teams that include technologists and the billion dollar Sumsung
entrepreneurs as well as managers, finance, legal, semiconductorfacility in
sales, and distribution personnel. International Austin, Texas Austin American
collaborations are seen to be important for Statesman, November 15, 1996
overcoming challenges of local language, culture,
legal, and policy differences. Challenges that 3M is often touted as being one of the world’s
can quickly overwhelm and defeat a small most innovative companies. The company has
company. International GNE teams are seen to thousands of products, a great percentage of
be a way to rapidly provide local expertise and which have been introduced within the past three
knowledge. The objective is to solve regionally- years. Employees are encouraged to
based problems faster shortening learning curves communicate freely across functional areas and
and to minimizing the threat of costly business they are encouraged to spend time on innovative
and marketing mistakes. projects that they champion. Stories like the
“chaotic” productization of the Post-It Notes
abound. Still the company is challenged to
Benefits to GNE can include:
accelerate its search for creative and innovative
Niche market dominance and
technologies and emerging global markets.
growth
Access to needed talent,
technology, capital, and know-how IC2 Institute and 3M Corporation are forming a
Minimizing costly mistakes and strategic partnership on what has been labeled an
‘‘Innovation Boot Camp.” The focus is on
mis-spent resources
technology innovation and commercialization.
Shortening the learning curve and
The Boot Camp is designed for senior executives
solving problems faster
responsible for new product development, R&D
laboratories, technology commercialization and
Large technology-intensiveinternational
other areas that rely on innovation. The
companies have long been going abroad for
argument is that in large corporations, even those
inexpensive labor and manufacturing as well as
as innovative as 3M, managers and technicians
market expansion. However, these same
tend to loose their entrepreneurial and creative
companies increasingly have a global orientation
instincts over time. They tend to become
in their search for capital, managerial talent, and
overwhelmed with the immediacy of events and
technology. Major challenges for large firms are
bureaucracy. They tend to loose sight of the
(1) the sourcing of new technology and (2)
new, exciting and perhaps breakthrough
maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit among
opportunities at hand.
employees. There is increasing pressure to be
faster and more efficient in globally accessing
The ICZ-3MInnovation Boot Camp is being
technology, taking it to commercial application,
designed to stimulate new behavior, thought
and successfully marketing resulting products
processes, and skills consistent with those of
and services. While there are considerable
successful technology entrepreneurs. The Boot
challenges to achieving such goals nationally, the
Camp is to sharpen global intrapreneurial
challenges increase dramatically, as these f m s
instincts-the foundation for innovation
attempt to shorten product development and
leadership. Technology innovation and
marketing cycles globally.
commercialization must be viewed within a
global context. For example, ideas, expertise,
“If we fall behind in globalization we
materials and components for a proposed new
will self-destruct. In the 21st Century
product might originate at many different
isolation means digression and possible
locations globally. The Boot Camp will employ
destruction. As challenging as
the following unique characteristics:
technology transfer will be, the real
294

5. ’ Develop innovative ways to regionally and
Immersion: Executives will be placed in globally leverage capital, talent, technology,
The Austin Technology Incubator for two to
~ and ‘know-how’ resources
three years. They will be partnered with
0 Leverage R&D to:
non-3M technologists, managers, and
I -Achieve early success
entrepreneurs.
1 -Contribute to newer industries and smart
Global Interaction: The Boot Camp Team
will participate in global innovation and
commercialization projects through
geographically distributed innovation teams. business, and government sectors across national
boundaries.
Experiential Learning: The executives will
learn by being engaged in real-life, real-time
innovation and commercializationprojects.
Follow Through: During the Boot Camp the Transferring “R&D” with
executives will transfer the “lessons learned’ * Market Rrrcarch know h w
back to their counterparts and others at 3M * F i n a n a d hnow-hov
Lseal k n o a - h o w
and, if the experiment succeeds, they will P r o d u c t m hnon h o x
D i l n b u t i o n PSISI and I C ~ ~ E nou
LL ham
launch new products and even new divisions
around Boot Camp technology. Figure 3: Crossing the Technology Transfer Gap
with Know-How
Incubators have traditionally been a way to foster
Figure 3 depicts how the regional and global
public/private collaboration at the regional level
know-how networks of a Globally Linked
-to spur economic development, fill vacant
Incubator cross the technology transfer gap
office space, train entrepreneurs, and create high-
between research strength and market
value jobs. At their best such incubators have
applications leading to wealth creation. The
acted as “lightening rods” at the regional level primary drivers are entrepreneurs and
linking talent, technology, capital, and business technology, which come from the private sector,
know-how to market needs. And the incubator
universities, federal laboratories, and R&D
can serve as a “learning laboratory” for local
consortia nationally or globally. The challenge
colleges and universities as well as regionally-
is to foster the global linking of cutting-edge
based professionals.
research and technology with venture financing
Global Networked Entrepreneurship seeks to and the realities of the international marketplace.
foster the global linking of incubators. As a
Whereas technology reports, patents, and
regionally-based incubator can fill the technology
technology licenses are often the output of R&D
transfer gap between applied R&D and product environments, they are considered inputs to the
commercialization local and national sources of due diligence and business plans required at the
R&D and local and national markets, it can also Globally Linked Incubator. GNE strives to
serve as an effective bridge across the academic, shorten product development cycles by
broadening tenant entrepreneurs’ global know-
how in market research, finance, advertising,
Global Networked Incubators Can Act as a quality issues, management, sales, and service.
Catalyst to: The entrepreneurial culture emphasizes the
importance of intangibles (e.g., business know-
0 Promote partnerships between large how and learning from each other) over tangibles
companies and entrepreneurial firms (e.g., a modem expensively furnished facility)
regionally and globally and it reinforces resource leveraging and
0 Foster collaborations across academic, spending hard to get cash on things that add
business, government sectors globally value, speed globally networked
0 Promote and support entrepreneurial vision entrepreneurship and productlprocess
and leadership commercialization (Figure 4).
295

6. EnhaneL
its associated Fellows that are located in the
C r a d i b i l i n and Trust on G l o b a l N c w o r k r
I academic, business, and government sectors
globally. These communication networks have
centered on research and education in the area of
science and technology commercialization.
International and multi-disciplinary teams have
Figure 4: Globally Networked Incubator worked on "unstructured problems" in such areas
as technopolis and regional economic
development, entrepreneurship and technology
FOSTERING VIABLE GLOBAL venturing, and critical success factors for
ENTREPRENEURIAL NETWORKS technology incubators and capital networks.
Fostering viable communication networks is key I P S locally-based learning laboratories included
to realizing benefits to GNE and the Innovation the Austin Technology Incubator, The Capital
Boot Camp. Advanced communication Network, and the Austin Technopolis. Based on
technologies can facilitate such regional and the lessons learned from these "learning
global networks. Whether the fax, better phone laboratories" innovative concepts and
connections, e-mail, the WWW, or economical management techniques were transferred
and reliable two-way interactive video, nationally to such organizations as NASA's
advanced technologies are bringing to reality the Ames Research Center in Sunnyvale, CA and the
means to achieve the global village. However, Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas. More
IC2 Institute research has shown that recently IC2 Institute is working with the
implementing these enabling technologies is not National Oceanic and Atmospheric
sufficient for a viable global network. Administration (NOAA) to launch and operate
the Center for Technological Innovation in
The Institute's most successful global Charleston, SC. The Institute has global
collaborations are primarily based on personal partners to facilitate GNE in Japan, China,
relationships with locally respected and active Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Mexico, Brazil,
champions. Long-term personal relationships Russia, Ukraine, and Portugal.
based on trust and mutual benefit are considered
essential. Short-term relations are not sufficient
because to realize sufficient win-win scenarios
collaborators often must overcome, in the short
term, loose-win and win-loose situations. Short- Bra211
Cumlba
China
term gains and loses, for all parties in the Shanghsi
Hc'cr
R"**B
!.orsow
collaboration, must be balanced with longer term Ukraine
TalWa"
Klr"
visions that all parties can support. Hlnrsh"
South Korea
iaeion
Japan
OS*h
Personal chemistry among collaborators should Lisbon
POItUgd
Chile
not be discounted. On-site visits need to occur 5antmg.a
Romania
despite frequent technology-mediated IkII
MeXlCD
MO"tW,SY
communication. Mutual trust is essential as is an Figure 5: Globally Networked Entrepreneurship
understanding of the "real world" constraints that Partners Linked by Talent, Technology, Capital
face the global partners. Constraints that inhibit and Know-How
"ideal" behavior and outcomes. Such a global
understanding requires an appreciation of the The challenge is to foster and maintain viable
norms and values, policies, and informal business entrepreneurial and professional networks for
environments of all participants. accessing and leveraging global talent by
specialization; technology by area of expertise;
IC2 INSTITUTE'S STRATEGY FOR capital by type (e.g., seed, venture, business
FOSTERING GNE angels, banks, government); and know-how (e.g.,
marketing, legal, sales and distribution,
Since its founding in 1977, IC2 Institute has management, manufacturing). A current IC2
fostered global partnerships and alliances thought research project is to completethe matrix (shown
296

7. in Figure 5 ) for specific technologies with regard support institutions representing academia,
to specific global partners. business, and government.
M.S. Degree Program CONCLUSION
In 1996 IC2Institute, The University of Texas at
Austin launched an innovative MS Degree Technology continues to shrink the world. There
Program in Science and Technology is no choice other than to participate in the global
Commercialization. A pressing challenge is to community. Science and technology is to
effectively leverage the Institute’s national and precious a resource to be restricted from drawing
global “learning laboratories” for educational the world together. That is what the 21” Century
and research advancements as well as to foster is all about.
regionally-based economic development.
Classes for this innovative one-year degree Dr. George Kozmetsky
program are held simultaneously in Austin, Chairman of the Board
Texas and Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Two-way ICz Institute
interactive video and e-mail is used to link these
geographically separate sites. The Austin
students emphasize their experiences in small
and large technology companies while the The 1990s were argued to be the era of
Virginia students bring government and policy boundaryless, virtual corporations that are
perspectives to class. Teams composed of composed of networks of independent companies
students from both locations work on “real-life’’ linked by advanced information technology. The
technology commercialization projects. In objective is to share skills and costs and to access
addition to US citizens, students enrolled in the one another’s technology and markets. Such
program are from Mexico, Japan, and Brazil. collaborations were to be temporary and
Early on it was realized that the benefits of responsive to rapid changes in the global
bringing a professionally and “situationally” marketplace. A communication super-highway is
diverse group of students together overwhelmed to permit far-flung units of different companies
the challenges of teaching across professional to quickly locate supplies, designers, and
and functional differences and geographic manufacturers through an information
distances. clearinghouse. Once connected, these virtual
corporations were expected to sign “electronic
In the next phase of MS Degree Program contracts” to speed linkages without legal
development, the Institute seeks to teach students headaches. Advanced technology was the key to
on-site in other countries. This will be making this happen. Years of “lessons learned”
accomplished through two-way video, e-mail, have demonstrated to even the most ardent
and on-site faculty visits. ICz’s first global technologists that there are significant
partners in this experiment are the Instituto organizational challenges to establishing and
Superior Tecnico (IST) in Lisbon, Portugal and maintaining such “technologically sophisticated”
The Academy of National Economy, Moscow. collaborative alliances. Advanced technology
The program will involve participants from the has not caused organizations, communities, and
Innovation Boot Camp and emphasize strategic regions to become more collaborative.
experiential learning in global enterprise Advanced technology is an important tool that
innovation and commercialization-global team can facilitate the process. The real challenges are
building on actual innovation and behavioral and managerial.
commercializationprojects. ICz’s global partners
from academia, business, and government will
contribute to curriculum design and testing. The REFERENCES
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[3] Gibson, David V. and Raymond Smilor
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