Science Park Location and New Technology-Based Firms in Sweden – Implications for Strategy and Performance

Abstract

One logical way to assess the performance of Science Parks is to compare the performance of their firms to similar firms not located there. A total of 273 new technology-based firms (NTBFs) were surveyed, of which 134 were on a Science Park and 139 were not on a park. There were significant differences in the means of strategy dimensions between the on-Park and off-Park firms. It can be seen that the NTBFs who located in Science Parks showed significantly greater emphasis on firm characteristics as innovation ability, competitor- and market-orientation, sales and employment growth, high profits etc. The differences indicates a slight advantage for the Science Park firms. The off-Park sample reported proximity to other firms to be of higher importance than the on-Park sample in their choice of location. However, these differences do not show any clear pattern, making it difficult to understand if NTBFs who locate on Science Parks are systematically looking for something different in their location.