Real Estate Resourcing on Science Parks: Exploratory Overview of European Science Parks

Science parks (SPs) are believed to enhance among others the knowledge management process (knowledge creation, retention, and transfer), and also commercialization of knowledge. Although SPs are established globally for decades, there is limited research concerning the characteristics of these real estate infrastructures. This paper aims to give an overview of how real estate resourcing in the European SP context is achieved. Prior research focused mainly on the impact of SPs on facilitating the innovation process and contributing to economic output. Less attention is given to possible heterogeneity in characteristics of SPs. A survey on SP characteristics is distributed among all known SP managers/owners in Europe in order to collect data on both physical and non-physical characteristics of these SPs. The survey sample consists of 82 cases among 16 European countries, which results in descriptive data on physical and non-physical characteristics of the SP field. The selected variables of SP characteristics are based on prior academic research. The total list of SPs is compiled through desk research, such as case studies in empiric research, member lists of SP associations and other registers. The paper gives an explorative overview of SP literature and a descriptive analysis of the physical and non-physical characteristics of SPs in the European context. It is a starting point for advancing the academic debate on the real estate context of knowledge management and offers practitioners trends in SP composition.