Contrasts in Ownership and Development: Local versus Global in 'Silicon Glen'

Abstract

This paper examines the recent development of the electronics industry in Scotland and explores the particular role of ownership. The scale of electronics growth has been striking in some respects, but its nature and quality have been less beneficial from the point of view of the local economy. Most growth has come from foreign-owned firms, but their overall impacts in terms of value added, employment and local linkages have been less than expected considering the volume of sales achieved. Indigenous UK firms add more value, have higher-level functions and offer a wider range of jobs, but have struggled to invest and expand. The paper also considers the relationship between the two groups: the patent inequality of this means that local ownership does not confer local economic control.