The spread of innovation from Science Technology Parks to local economy

The main aim of this work is to investigate how a Science and Technology Park (STP) can relaunch a local economy through the spread of innovation. Particularly this paper analyses the capabilities of STP to encourage local operators to undertake innovative activities, and to raise local economy. The attention is focused on the role of STP in the development of relationships between the main actors of local innovation characterized by different nature (firms, public institutions, universities). At the base of these interrelationships, interaction becomes an important means of gaining and transferring new knowledge, and accessing external resources that are not available in-house (Birley, 1985; Penrose, 1959). In regional studies perspective, relationships developed in a geographic area can promote a more rapid movement of ideas, supporting the sharing of knowledge, particularly tacit knowledge (Jaffe, 1989; Saxenian, 1994). In this approach spatial environment influences firm s knowledge access, and its capacity for mutual learning (Keeble and Wilkinson 1999; Boschma, 1999). In industrial network perspective, space, location, place are considered as a set of resources (Håkansson, Tunisini, Waluszewski, 2006; Baraldi, 2006). Furthermore recognizing space as a key dimension of interaction (Håkansson et al. 2009), the existing set of resources can be related in different ways with varied resources at other places. This also generates the outlining of micro, meso and macro level of space (Baraldi, 2006). In order to analyse how a STP can support the relaunch of local economy, the study investigates the development of an Italian STP and the impact of its activity among local actors. In this way the paper analyses innovative projects promoted by STP that involved several local organizations specialized in living concept. The case is investigated through the analytical tool of 4R model (Håkansson, Waluszewski, 2002, Baraldi, 2002). This work, based on a qualitative approach, is elaborated through semi-structured interviews realized with the key informant referents of STP and projects analyzed. This paper shows how STPs support interconnections between different micro-meso and macro networks generating the development of local actors.