Analyses of small and medium-sized science and technology parks show that longer-term growth may depend upon attracting larger partners Online publication date: Mon, 25-Oct-2021
by Charles Mondal; Robert B. Mellor
International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development (IJMED), Vol. 20, No. 3, 2021
Abstract: The growth of on-cluster and off-cluster SMEs and municipal science and technology parks (STPs) were compared. The young (2003) Umeå Science Park, accounts for 11% of firms and 29% of employment in Umeå, containing 17 SMEs, with on average 7.42 employees per on-cluster SME compared to 2.14 employees in off-cluster SMEs. The more mature (1998) Skövde Science Park accounts for 30% of firms and 78% of employment in Skövde, with 21 on-cluster SMEs (discounting branches of two large companies) and 49 off-cluster SMEs; the off-cluster firms had 168 employees compared to 598 employees in 21 on-cluster SMEs. In Skövde, STP growth was strong and on- and off-cluster SMEs prospered. In Umeå, STP and on-cluster SMEs grew slowly, while off-cluster SMEs proliferated. These results imply that young STPs grow better when they are interesting enough to be able to attract divisions of larger firms, which in turn improves the STP-level decision-making.
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