Focused and General science parks: a study of New Technology Based Firms within Life-sciences in Sweden

Abstract: New Technology-Based Firms (NTBFs) contribute greatly to the development and construction of their nations‟ economies. Therefore their creation, survival and growth have become a major focus for policy. Science parks as actors within regional innovation systems can be suitable tools to carry out this objective. This paper investigated whether the type of science park has any effect on performance of NTBFs. To this end science parks were categorized as focused –hosting firms from a single industry- and general –more than one industry. A comparative study based on second hand data collection was performed on Swedish science parks working within Life-sciences. The results revealed that focused science parks are better stimulants of employment creation and that their residents enjoy higher rates of sales growth. The author recommends that further categorization of science parks leads to better recognition and utilization of their potential.