Value Added Contributions of Science Parks the Case of the Barcelona Scientific Park

Abstract

Science parks are institutions that support the creation and development of high technology-based companies. They are designed to provide value-added services together with high-quality space and facilities and to promote interaction amongst universities, R&D institutions, companies, and markets. Although Spain is among the countries that have been investing heavily in these institutions, there is lack of feedback from the tenant companies' perspective with respect to the value added that they receive from science parks. The objective of this study is to evaluate the services that the Barcelona Science Park offers to its tenants by gathering information from the companies currently located in the park and those that have graduated. By comparing the results obtained from the two groups of companies, incubated and graduated, we examine whether the opinions differ about their appreciation of the services that they benefited from during their stay in the Park than those currently remaining.