The Godfathers: Characteristics and Roles of Central Individuals in the Transformation of Techno-Regions

Abstract

Many successful techno-regions have benefited from a single individual who sustained the regional vision, was the primary source of creative strategies, and is personally identified with the transformation and success of the region. This paper discovers common and distinctive factors in the biographies of these godfathers and in the roles they have played in their respective regions. We investigated eight godfathers of well-established techno-regions (including Frederick Terman of Silicon Valley, George Kozmetsky of Austin, and Morihiko Hiramatsu of Oita), comparing them with each other and with three godfathers and one godmother of smaller regions that have begun their transformative efforts more recently. Using theories of networking and diffusion of innovation, we advance tentative conclusions about the factors that enable a godfather’s effective action, and about the newer godfathers’ or godmothers’ likelihood of success. These small-sample results suggest an extension of social network theory to encompass the unique characteristics of a tiny but highly influential minority: The godfathers who drive technological and economic change in regions.