Science park, a high tech fantasy?: an analysis of the science parks of Greece

Abstract

The literature on science parks evaluation mainly covers the developed countries of OECD. There is a lack of evidence about the role of science parks in the less developed countries. This paper aims to partially fill this gap in literature by examining the science parks in a peripheral European country, Greece. The findings indicate that the picture of the three science parks of Greece is not the same in terms of the links between university and industry. Informal links have been developed between the firms and the local university, however, only the firms located at one science park have developed formal links, while the formal links of the companies of the other two parks are at the infant level at this time. Synergies between the on-park companies are limited only in commercial transactions and social interactions. The research type synergies are completely absent in all three parks.