The Impact of Science and Technology Parks on Firms Product
The development of science and technology parks has provided some businesses with numerous advantages. Usually, these advantages are in the form of lenient tax policies and increased flow of technological and product related research information. As a result, the implementation of these parks has had a profound impact on the development and marketing of products.
What Are Science and Technology Parks?
These are areas that communities have set aside specifically for the development of businesses that are active in researching science and technology. Generally, these parks are established by county level governments, and communities place bids in an attempt to be selected as the site of these parks. Generally, science and technology parks bring tremendous growth to the community. Perhaps, the best examples of this type of economic development tool can be found in Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley is known for its heavy use of science and technology parks. In particular, these parks have allowed the rapid development of technology based products. These parks boost the productivity of member companies by providing them with numerous benefits. The most common of these benefits are tax subsidies and discounted office space. These benefits lower the overhead that companies must pay, and this allows for additional resources to be diverted to product development.
How These Parks Aid The Development of Products
By aggregating technology and science companies in a central location, these parks allow for information to be exchanged between these firms at a faster rate. This increased rate of communication allows the firms to operate in a more efficient manner. In particular, when science and technology firms encounter complex problems, they have sources of information that are readily accessible. While these sources of information are informal in nature, this can dramatically increase the efficiency of these firms. In theory, this principle operates by reducing the number of barriers that exist for obtaining the needed information. This is particularly important for firms that specialize in the development of niche related products. There are few competitors for these products, but there are also few suppliers of needed information. As a result, the informal information networks that these parks foster allow niche companies to consult with companies that work in related fields. In particular, this is advantageous when the related company has experienced a similar problem. In other words, the free flow of information between companies allows for rapid problem solving and an aggregation of information based capital. This information can then be rapidly incorporated into product designs.