Title: Process framework for technology district creation - the case of Israel

Authors: Dominika Nowak

Addresses: Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Tel Aviv, Trade and Investment Promotion Section, Yehuda Hamaccabi 79, Tel Aviv 62300, Israel

Abstract: By discussing specific mechanisms which shaped Israel's high-tech cluster, this paper identifies general conditions and environments conducive to technology district creation. It adds to the current research by presenting a process framework for technology district development. The study identified two groups of factors which contributed to Israel's high-tech cluster creation the ones of an objective nature and those resulting from an intentional course of action. Critical analysis of their interconnectedness and role in the high-tech cluster development demonstrates that a technology district's effectiveness can be primarily attributed to the state or region's capability to identify the area's potential and execute measures that transform the potential into usable assets. By challenging the often simplistic approach to technology districts creation, based on the assumption that economic innovation can be evoked by establishing or replicating certain tools in an isolated manner, the study has practical implications for policy making.

Keywords: technology districts; high-tech clusters; high technology; cluster effectiveness; process framework; national innovation systems; NIS; Israel; technology district creation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEIM.2015.073218

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 2015 Vol.19 No.5/6, pp.289 - 303

Accepted: 22 Feb 2014
Published online: 29 Nov 2015 *

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