Dispersed concentration of high-tech jobs in the new economy : the paradox of new information and communication technologies

More high-tech firms are conducting their business over long distances due to the use of new information and communication technologies (ICT). However, regional scientists articulate that geographic proximity is still important, at least, to the high-tech industry and the knowledge-related business activities. My research offers a ground work for understanding the paradox - more dispersed high-tech business practices and higher geographic concentration of high-tech jobs in the new economy than before. Drawing from diverse regional and economic literatures, I suggest a paradox of new information communication technology regarding the location pattern of high knowledge-generating jobs. From this perspective, I found a dispersed concentration pattern of high knowledge-generating jobs due to less transitory tacit knowledge than codified knowledge and implicit communication; and business organization change. Both my longitudinal empirical analysis and interviews suggest that the jobs in the high knowledge-generating production industries in the United States became further concentrated during the 1990s.