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From Software Services to R&D Services: Local Entrepreneurship in the Software Industry in Bangalore, India

Author

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  • Balaji Parthasarathy

    (International Institute of Information Technology, 26/C Electronics City, Bangalore-560100, India)

  • Yuko Aoyama

    (Graduate School of Geography, Clark University, 950 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01610-1477, USA)

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the emergence of R&D services in Bangalore, India, by focusing on the process of technological upgrading in the Indian software industry. The development trajectory of the Indian software industry and the upgrading it has experienced, from providing low-skill software services to providing high-skill R&D services, are examined using evidence from interviews with Indian firms in Bangalore. Whereas most research on the Indian software industry thus far has emphasized the role of the state and multinational corporations, in this paper we argue that active local entrepreneurship is playing an increasingly important role in technological upgrading and in the shift from low-skill to high-skill services in Bangalore. These shifts are being facilitated by growing institutional thickness, as evidenced by the accumulation of local expertise, increasing local entrepreneurship addressing specific market niches, and the development of a local technical community.

Suggested Citation

  • Balaji Parthasarathy & Yuko Aoyama, 2006. "From Software Services to R&D Services: Local Entrepreneurship in the Software Industry in Bangalore, India," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(7), pages 1269-1285, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:38:y:2006:i:7:p:1269-1285
    DOI: 10.1068/a38102
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jue Wang & Shaoming Cheng & Sukumar Ganapati, 2012. "Path dependence in regional ICT innovation: Differential evolution of Zhongguancun and Bangalore," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(3), pages 231-245, August.
    2. Guimón, José & Chaminade, Cristina & Maggi, Claudio & Salazar-Elena, Juan Carlos, 2018. "Policies to Attract R&D-related FDI in Small Emerging Countries: Aligning Incentives With Local Linkages and Absorptive Capacities in Chile," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 165-178.

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