The Knowledge Relationship between Science Parks and Large Multinational Corporations

Sammanfattning: Since the 1950, Europe has been pursuing to mimic the innovative success of Silicon Valley through artificial innovative clusters or science parks. Today, science parks are abundant in Europe, yet research on their performance has mainly focused on their ability to produce successful new ventures. This thesis explores the role multinational enterprises (MNEs) have in the development of competences and innovative competitiveness of science parks as well as the motivations and perceived benefits these firms have for establishing in science parks. This is a qualitative case study of Ideon Science Park located in the Skåne region of Southern Sweden. The empirical data for analysis in this thesis is sourced from ten interviews with relevant actors in the park including MNEs, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as Ideon support and management organizations. The findings in this paper suggest that MNEs in a cluster can play a key role in the specialization of knowledge of the cluster through increases in the critical mass as well as knowledge spillovers to other actors in the park. MNEs are found to benefit mostly from the specialized labor present at the science park. Understanding the methodological limitation, this thesis makes an argument in support of a mutualistic relationship between MNEs and clusters in terms of knowledge sourcing and flow.