| Abstract: |
Technology development is increasingly important for creating efficient and
sustainable economies. One of the innovation policies are science parks, area
developments where technology-based firms and knowledge-based institutions
co-locate. Preferences of technology-based firms relate to the presence and
quality of certain facilities, services, and location attributes, which are
means for achieving organizational goals. As science parks are locations that
generally offer a mix of such facilities and services, it can be configured in
numerous ways. The gap between what science parks offer and what tenants need
has been acknowledged as troublesome by science park managers and tenants as
this gap can negatively influence the performance of science parks and their
tenants. Therefore, this study focuses on the preferences of technology-based
firms in relation to science park attributes and if different target groups
can be distinguished from these preferences. To collect data about
preferences, an online survey is distributed among technology-based firms both
on and off science parks in the Netherlands. Using the technique of
stated-choice experiments, decision-makers of technology-based firms (i.e.
CEOs) are presented carefully designed hypothetical science-park locations and
asked to indicate which location they would prefer if they would relocate. In
the experimental design used, each hypothetical location consists of seven
attributes each with three levels. The choice data allows for estimating the
preference values for the different levels of each attribute, while taking
into account the respondent’s current situation, using a discrete choice model
as framework (a latent class model). This research provides insights on which
science park attributes are desirable for technology-based firms and how much
firms are willing-to-pay for particular attributes. Furthermore, differences
in preferences between distinct target groups among technology-based firms are
analyzed. For practice, the insights allow management of science parks to
better adapt services and location characteristics to demands of the target
groups of interest. |