A 4D Analysis Framework of Competitive Advantages and Development Strategies of Urban Science and Technology Parks: The Examples of Taipei Neihu Technology Park and Nankang Software Park

Abstract

With the development trend of global urbanization, the number of urban science and technology parks (STPs) is gradually increasing. This paper reviews the relevant literature on STPs, innovation systems, competitive advantages, and strategies of STPs in the context of urban development, and we propose a four-dimensional analysis framework of the competitive advantages and development strategies of an urban STP. The first dimension consists of 20 actors and 30 factors divided into five aspects: economic, technological, social, environmental, and political and multifaceted. The second dimension comprises the different scales of space and network where the actors are located, from STPs to the region/urban, nation, and the world. The third dimension is the relationship and interaction between the actors of different scales, and the fourth dimension is time, which follows the life cycle of STPs.
We examined two STPs in Taipei City of Taiwan—the Neihu Technology Park and the Nankang Software Park—using survey and statistical data from 2003 to 2019. We found that the growth rate of enterprise revenue and employees of urban STPs are high and that urban STPs have competitive advantages, such as the presence of numerous universities, skilled labor, talent with foreign experience, and a large global market. At different stages of the STP life cycle, the reasons for attracting enterprises are different, and the competitive advantages change. Public or private STPs have different competitive advantages, and paying attention to global opportunities and threats and formulating appropriate strategies will help develop STP enterprises. Finally, we propose three suggested strategies to promote the development of urban STPs: planning the future scalability of the STP, applying ICTs to construct a smart STP, and creating an STP ecosystem with sustainable development.