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[edit] Acknowledgments

Writing a book is a long but, thankfully, not a lonely journey. An embarrassingly large number of people have helped me when I, quite often, stumbled. I would like to thank my friends for this journey at MIT and afar: David Art, Sean Safford, Amos Zehavi, Carlos Martínez-Vela, Douglas Fuller, Edward Cunningham, Guy Hachlili, Yoav Ezer, Dirk Zorn, Fabio Fonti, and Carsten Zimmermann. Many other wise friends and mentors have assisted me along the way; standing high among them are Andrew Schrank, Gary Herrigel, Ashish Arora, Alfonso Gambardella, Douglas Guthrie, Niel Fligstein, Mark Granovetter, Walter Powell, Manuel Trajtenberg, Dan Peled, Ehud Harari, Arnon Bentur, Nadav Liron, Martin Kenney, Benjamin Coriat, Giovanni Dosi, Suma Athreye, Mary O’Sullivan, William Lazonick, Stephen Klepper, Morris Teubal, Arnaldo Camuffo, Gil Avnimelech, Richard Locke, Jonah Levy, Edward Roberts, Thomas Allen, Mauro Guillen, and John Zysman. John also proved instrumental in moving me in the right direction during the last set of revisions, when my ability to think straight was questionable.

In every one of my host countries, there have been many institutions and people to thank. In Israel, I especially thank the Neaman Institute for Advanced Studies and its program in Science, Technology, and the Economy for giving me an intellectual home away from home, as well as the Institute’s administrative staff, in particular Rebecca Best, for protecting me from myself for the past four years. In the field, Orna Berry, Jon Medved, Ed Malvaski, and Avner Halperin contributed over and above the call of duty. Glorianna Davenport stands as a guardian angel of my forays into Ireland; without her I would probably not have been able to conduct the extensive field research I did. The dismantled Media Lab Europe (MLE) should also be thanked for giving me institutional support and a warm house in its first two very optimistic years. I am happy that my memories of MLE are of that period. Breffni Tomlin and the National Institute of Technology Management in University College Dublin have also provided a home away from home. The Coughlans— Sean, Michelle, and Anna—gave a real home for Shiri and me. Sean also proved that Irish men know not only how to be true friends and climb rocks, but also how to cook. Cathal Friel took me under his wing and introduced me to a different Dublin many a time, giving me his wise counsel and deep friendship. In the “sunny” Southeast, the Griffins—Michael, Jasmine, and Myla-Ling—have shown us what Irish hospitality is all about, and in Kerry, Peter Bellew proved that this art is not unique to the East. Throughout my long endeavor, Brendan Touhy, Brian Caulfield, Helen Keelan, and Sean O’Sullivan have always been there to save a lonely Danny Boy from getting lost. In Taiwan, special thanks is owed to the managers and staff of the Department of Industrial Technology at the Ministry of Economic Affairs; at both NTU and MIT, Ji-Ren Lee was invaluable, Wen-Yueh (James) Wang and Yu-Chen (Jesse) Lan supplied superb research assistantship; and Alan Chen and Hsin Hsin Lin gave superb logistic support.

The many interviewees in Israel, Ireland, Taiwan, and the United States who gave me, a complete stranger, so much of their time stand in a category of their own. Back at MIT, Helen Ray consistently nurtured me back to mental health in the Department of Political Science. The people of the Writing Center have seen me struggling, probably more times than I care to admit, with writing all my bubbling ideas into a coherent essay; in particular, Thalia, Marilyn, and Susan have faced this daunting task with a smile and wry sense of humor. During the summer of 2004, this task was delegated in England to Hatuly, who took it in brave stride, each and every afternoon. At the IPC, Anita Kafka has always been my Seraph, and my colleagues in the globalization project—in particular, Akintunde Akinwande, Charles Sodini, Timothy Sturgeon, Sara Jane McCaffrey, and Edward Steinfeld—gave me constant advice and counsel.

Starting in August 2005 the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and the School of Public Policy of Georgia Institute of Technology gave me a friendly home and more support, friendship, and time than an assistant professor can ever hope for. I am especially in debt for all of the above to William Long. In addition, Kirk Bowman, Michael Best, Hans Klein, Seymour Goodman, and Richard Doner made our transit to Atlanta a much more intellectually thriving one. During spring 2006, the Stanford Project on Region of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Stanford’s Institute of International Studies gave me a home and needed solitude to finish the last revisions of this book as a visiting scholar. I especially thank Henry Rowen, William Miller, Marguerite Hancock, and Rafiq Dossani for making the experience a productive one. Lesa Mitchell, Robert Litan, and Robert Strom at the Kauffman Foundation were there to give me, and this book, the final needed push.

In addition, two sets of annual scholarly meetings were important to keep me going. The first has been DRUID in Copenhagen, where special thanks are owed to Mark Lorenzen, Peter Maskell, Henrik Sornn-Friese, and Bent Dalum. The second has been EGOS, where special thanks are owed to the members of the Standing Working Group One, especially Richard Whitley, Glenn Morgan, Arndt Sorge, and Peer Hull Kristiansen. Lastly, at Yale University Press, my editor, Michael O’Malley, his editorial assistants Steve Colca and Alex Larson, and my manuscript editor Dan Heaton proved both invaluable and utterly encouraging.

However, none of this research would have come together as one coherent body of work without four people. Suzanne Berger, has been both a true friend and a harsh master, knowing when to push me forward and when to save me from despair. Richard Samuels has always been more than just the superb mentor he is, and, together with Debbie, they gave us an extended family in Massachusetts. Michael Piore always knew how to keep me going, and to whom and where to send me before I fell. Richard Lester helped me find a home and stability in this hectic period within the rich community he nurtures at the IPC.

Financial support made this research possible: from a Sloan Foundation graduate fellowship; the STE program of the Neaman Institute in the Technion in Israel; the SSRC program on the Corporation as a Social Institution through a grant given by the Sloan Foundation; the MacArthur Foundation, through two grants given by the Center for International Studies at MIT; MIT Industrial Performance Center; MediaLabEurope; MIT’s Department of Political Science; and the Kauffman Foundation.

Last but not least, without the enduring support of my family in all of its branches, blood and law, I would have never survived this journey. My mother, Tamar, prevented me from losing my balance and hope. Dafna showed what sisters are all about, heroically reminding me what life is in Dublin and Tel Aviv. Finally, Shiri, my companion and wife, has repeatedly proved that she is a saint reborn; she is truly my song. The existence of this book has at least as much to do with her as it has with me; only she and god know why she puts up with me.

This site made possible through the generous support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation