Justyna DĄBROWSKA and Iryna MANCZAK
Krakow University of Economics, Poland
Science and Technology Parks (STPs) operate in an environment increasingly shaped by digital transformation, sustainability challenges, and the growing complexity of innovation processes. As innovation becomes more networked and multi-actor in nature, understanding the evolving role of STPs within contemporary innovation ecosystems has become an important research issue.
Despite a substantial body of literature on STPs, existing studies remain fragmented and predominantly focus on individual dimensions of their activity, such as infrastructure provision, university–industry collaboration, or entrepreneurship support. Longitudinal evidence explaining how STPs have evolved over time remains limited, particularly in relation to emerging theoretical perspectives such as the Quintuple Helix framework.
To address this gap, the study employs a longitudinal qualitative comparative analysis of the IASP Global Survey Reports from 2015 and 2024. The analysis is based on thematic coding across multiple dimensions, including governance models, service portfolios, sustainability practices, urban integration, internationa
Science and Technology Parks (STPs) operate in an environment increasingly shaped by digital transformation, sustainability challenges, and the growing complexity of innovation processes. As innovation becomes more networked and multi-actor in nature, understanding the evolving role of STPs within contemporary innovation ecosystems has become an important research issue.
Despite a substantial body of literature on STPs, existing studies remain fragmented and predominantly focus on individual dimensions of their activity, such as infrastructure provision, university–industry collaboration, or entrepreneurship support. Longitudinal evidence explaining how STPs have evolved over time remains limited, particularly in relation to emerging theoretical perspectives such as the Quintuple Helix framework.
To address this gap, the study employs a longitudinal qualitative comparative analysis of the IASP Global Survey Reports from 2015 and 2024. The analysis is based on thematic coding across multiple dimensions, including governance models, service portfolios, sustainability practices, urban integration, internationalisation, and performance measurement systems.
The findings reveal a fundamental transformation of STPs from infrastructure-oriented organisations focused on technology transfer into knowledge-based actors that coordinate and support innovation ecosystems. Contemporary STPs increasingly adopt hybrid governance structures, provide knowledge-intensive services, strengthen international linkages, integrate sustainability principles, and implement multidimensional performance measurement frameworks. The study contributes to the literature by providing longitudinal evidence of this transformation and by advancing the conceptualisation of STPs as knowledge organisations and ecosystem orchestrators operating within smart and sustainable innovation ecosystems.
lisation, and performance measurement systems.
The findings reveal a fundamental transformation of STPs from infrastructure-oriented organisations focused on technology transfer into knowledge-based actors that coordinate and support innovation ecosystems. Contemporary STPs increasingly adopt hybrid governance structures, provide knowledge-intensive services, strengthen international linkages, integrate sustainability principles, and implement multidimensional performance measurement frameworks. The study contributes to the literature by providing longitudinal evidence of this transformation and by advancing the conceptualisation of STPs as knowledge organisations and ecosystem orchestrators operating within smart and sustainable innovation ecosystems.