CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS OF TECHNOLOGY PARKS IN AUSTRALIA

Given the potential importance of technology parks, their complexity in terms of the scope of required investment and the growing interest of governments to use them as tools for creating sustainable development there is a pressing need for a better understanding of the critical success factors of these entities. However, Briggs and watt (2001) argued that the goal of many technology parks and the factors driving innovation success are still a mystery. In addition, it is argued that the problem with analyzing technology parks and cluster building is that recent studies analyze "the most celebrated case studies ... to 'explain' their success" (Holbrook and Wolfe, 2002). This study uses intensive interviewing of technology parks' managers and managers of tenant firms in the technology park to explore critical success factors of four of Australia's' technology parks. The study identified the following critical success factors: a culture of risk-taking "entrepreneurism", an autonomous park management that is independent of university officials and government bureaucrats, an enabling environment, a critical mass of companies that allows for synergies within the technology park, the presence of internationally renounced innovative companies, and finally a shared vision among the technology park stakeholders.