Technological complexity describes the ability of the companies based in a region to develop a variety of technologies and to link each other in such a way that long -term competitive advantages arise. Regions with high complexity – such as the Silicon Valley in the USA as a classic or Shenzhen in China as a new example – dominate a large number of skills that can only be found in a few other regions. They have both a wide range of technologies and very specialized knowledge stocks, which – when newly combined – can produce difficult to copy, new technologies. Technologies for digital communication such as cryptographic communication protocols or 6G network protocols and various applications of artificial intelligence (AI) would be examples of this. This allows these regions to develop competitive advantages that are deeply anchored in their unique knowledge and competence structure.
