Agents of Change and Window of Locational Opportunity (WLO) in Crypto Valley in Zug, Switzerland

Abstract

The article explores the role of human agency in the construction of the opportunity space during the emergence of a new technology—blockchain—in the town of Zug, Switzerland. Trinity of change agency (TCA)—Schumpeterian innovative entrepreneurs, institutional entrepreneurs, and place-based leadership—were able to seize a brief Window of Locational Opportunity (WLO) and construct the opportunity space to promote path creation in Zug. Branded as Crypto Valley, Zug is a medium-sized town that is home to a thriving blockchain and crypto start-up ecosystem. The case of Crypto Valley contributes to the debate on the interplay between the broader institutional context and with time-specific, region-specific, and agent-specific opportunity spaces during the emergence of a new technology—blockchain. The article also highlights the role of institutional relatedness in the emergence of Crypto Valley in Zug.