SERVICES FIRMS IN THE IDEON-SCIENCE-PARK

The experience, in the 1970s and 1980s, of IDEON Science Park, located at Lund University, Sweden, illustrates the type of forces that shape d the institutional design of a science park. We review the literature on science parks and their evaluation, outlining the role of consulti ng and service firms. IDEON is a 'technology window' with governance r ules which reduce the transaction cost at the industry-university inte rface. IDEON's experience and its 'incubator role' reinforce the role and function of service firms. Its organizational design overcomes mar ket imperfections, reducing the costs of the innovation process. IDEON is an institutional innovation which extrapolates traditional evaluat ion parameters.