Science parks and incubators: observations, synthesis and future research

Problems with the extant literature on science parks and incubators are examined in terms of four levels of analysis: the science parks and incubators themselves, the enterprises located upon science parks and incubators, the entrepreneurs and teams of entrepreneurs involved in these enterprises and at the systemic level. We suggest there is no systematic framework to understand science parks and incubators, that there is a failure to understand their dynamic nature as well as that of the companies located on them, that there is a lack of clarity regarding the performance of science parks and incubators which is associated with problems in identifying the nature of performance. We review briefly the papers contained in this special issue and demonstrate how each sheds light on an unexplored dimension of this emerging literature. In the concluding section, we synthesize the findings of the papers and outline a broader research agenda. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.