Beyond the linear view of innovation in science park evaluation - An analysis of Western Australian Technology Park

Science and technology (S&T) parks have been viewed sceptically in much of the academic Literature when judged in terms of technology development or urban renewal. S&T Parks have been criticised for relying on an outdated, linear, model of innovation, which assumes that scientific knowledge can be transferred unproblematically from a research university to an adjacent Park for development. Innovation is now widely recognised as a complex non-linear process involving feedback loops and the creation of synergies through a diverse range of information networks. However, much evaluation of S&T Parks continues to implicitly use a linear framework by concentrating on the direct transfer of knowledge from universities to Park companies, and has a fairly limited conceptualisation of whether interaction is occurring or not. This article moves beyond the linear approach by examining interaction and networking within Western Australian Technology Park (WATP), as well as between WATP companies and universities. It also compares the situation in WATP with the findings from a study by Vedovello of Surrey Research Park. It finds that there is more interaction occurring than might be estimated using the traditional evaluative model and identifies several different categories of company which exist at the Park, in terms of their interactive behaviour. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.