The Silicon Valley – Singapore connection: The role of institutional gateways in establishing knowledge pipelines

The literature on clusters emphasizes the necessity to integrate external knowledge to maintain their viability. This task, however, is aggravated by institutional differences between clusters. The central question for accessing diverse knowledge then is how to mitigate institutional differences between clusters. We propose that “institutional gateways” between clusters circumvent institutional barriers. Institutional gateways provide a configuration that consists of institutions from both clusters. This hybrid institutional configuration helps to mitigate institutional and cognitive distances and provides an entry point for firms from one cluster into the other. As an example, we explore the ‘Block71SF’ open creative lab in San Francisco. Block71SF was set up by the Singapore government to facilitate the movement of firms between the Singapore and Silicon Valley software clusters.