Does location in a science park really matter for firms' intellectual capital performance?. Issue 4 (7th October 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Francesco Schiavone, Dr; Marco Romano, Professor; Schiavone, Francesco; Meles, Antonio; Verdoliva, Vincenzo; Del Giudice, Manlio
• Is Part Of: Journal of intellectual capital. Volume 15:Issue 4(2014)
• Page Start: 497
• Page End: 515
• Publication Date: 2014-10-07
• Subjects: Intellectual capital -- Periodicals; Human capital -- Periodicals; Knowledge management -- Periodicals; 658.4038
• DOI: 10.1108/JIC-07-2014-0082
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1469-1930

Abstract

<abstract> <title> <x content-type="archive" xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Purpose</title> <p> – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of being located in a science park (SP) on the level of a firm's intellectual capital (IC) performance. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Design/methodology/approach</title> <p> – Using a sample of 183 Italian firms (i.e. 61 tenant and 122 non-tenant firms), and through the GLS technique, the authors regress the firms' IC performance across various explicative variables including a dummy that discriminates tenant and non-tenant firms. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Findings</title> <p> – Consistently with expectations, the results show that the location of a firm in a SP leads to improved IC performance. Moreover, the authors find that some other firm characteristics, such as size, age, and leverage, are important predictors of its IC-based performance. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Research limitations/implications</title> <p> – The sample is small and the impact on performance might be biased by factors related to the regional context (e.g. level of industrialization, quality of education, and science system). </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Practical implications</title> <p> – Implications for policy makers: support the growth of firms in SPs especially in those industries full of firms with scarce performance in IC. Implications for SP managers: they could "sell" (in terms of marketing) to both entrepreneurs to attract and policy makers this result. Implications for institutional investors: they should look at SPs with greater interest to find high-quality firms and improve their screening activity. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Originality/value</title> <p> – This paper aims to extend literature about factors explaining the level of a firm's IC performance and the current understanding of the impact of SPs at firm level.</p> </sec> </abstract>