Social Technologies (Aug 2011)
Science and Technology Parks in the Context of Social Technologies
Abstract
Summary. This article aims to present a new approach to science and technology park concept and the development prospects in the context of social technologies. Globalization and the spread of social technologies are expanding the influence of science and technology parks on national innovation systems. It opens new directions for research in this area, as well as the practical use of social technologies in the development of science and technology parks. The paper also examines the science and technology park as an institutionalized concept of social technology. In this article the interdisciplinary approach for analyzing the complex concept of science and technology parks is used to explore the theoretical relationships with the social technologies concept. The possible links are identified and illustrated by practical examples of Lithuanian science and technology parks. Finally suggestions for further research are made. Based on the analysis and synthesis of scientific literature in both fields (science and technology parks; social technologies) three possible theoretical links are established: a) the use of social technologies in science and technology parks b) the role of a science park as an intermediate body in the humanization and socialization of technologies c) science and technology parks as an institutionalized concept of social technology. The theoretical model is supported by empirical illustrations from the development of Lithuanian science and technology parks, therefore further research in all three directions is feasible and needed. As this research takes a merely theoretical approach to the social systems investigation, it can be qualified only as a preparational stage for further research. The practical examples used in the article are more illustrative than evidence based and shall not be considered as case studies. The research offers an initial framework for researching science and technology parks in the context of social technologies. Establishment of stronger interdisciplinary links of those different concepts has an impact on the effectiveness of the management of science and technology parks, competitiveness of regional and national economies. It allows definition of the areas for future research in a more detailed way, to make particular case studies and gather further evidence on the strength of established links, their main characteristics. It also allows design of new management models for science and technology parks, formulates the recommendations on the effectiveness of science and technology parks as institutions and as a part of innovation system, define new indicators for evaluation of performance and establish new work organization methods. The new concept of science and technology parks as an institutionalized form of social technology shall be elaborated in the future research.
