Journal of Urban Economics and Management

Science and technology parks, as one of the infrastructures of science-based economy, have played a specific role in the development of regional, local, and urban economy. The current study, aiming at helping the development of the function of such parks, utilizing data-driven conceptualization-theory method, one of the qualitative methods, analyzes and identifies effective contextual factors in assessing the function of the parks across the nation. The research is descriptive purpose-wise and qualitative strategy-wise. The research population consisted of all managers and view holders of science and technology parks and the 17 participants out of the population were selected based on Snowball Sampling Method and were interviewed. The results show that effective factors in assessing the function of science and technology parks include considerations of science-based companies, considerations of internal and external interactions in the park, infrastructure consideration, cultural considerations, procedural and structural considerations, considerations related to services and consultations, managerial and staff-related considerations, considerations related to domestic and foreign potentials, large-scale and exterior considerations, and the considerations related to the assessing team of the park. The study concludes with applied suggestions for the development of such parks.