FDI, social ties and technological learning in new Silicon Valley clones. Evidence from the Costa Rican ICT cluster

Luciano Ciravegna (1, 2)

1 School of Management
2 INCAE Business School

This study, based on qualitative evidence collected through 150 interviews with local entrepreneurs, MNC directors, and other actors, contributes to the understanding of the effects of FDI by showing that the social ties of local entrepreneurs and MNC directors affect technological learning in the Costa Rican ICT cluster in ways that are often overlooked by the literature on technological capabilities. It illustrates that the social disembeddedness of MNC directors and the low endowment of transnational social ties of local entrepreneurs contribute to explain the limited effect of FDI on technological learning in the Costa Rican Silicon Valley clone.

Mots clés: Social Sciences & Humanities

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Luciano Ciravegna. FDI, social ties and technological learning in new Silicon Valley clones. Evidence from the Costa Rican ICT cluster. The Journal of Development Studies, 2011, pp.1. ⟨10.1080/00220388.2010.547935⟩. ⟨hal-00722236⟩