ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on original research designed to explore the extent to which technology parks in Malaysia leverage externalities related to Marshallian specialisation and externalities related to industry diversity or related variety. The chapter focuses on the two most successful technology park cases of Technology Park Malaysia (TPM) in the greater Kuala Lumpur area and Kulim High Tech Park (KHTP) in Kedah. The main objective of TPM is to be able to commercialise the research output and innovation that is generated by private and public research organisations in Malaysia. The context in which science and technology parks in Malaysia have emerged is one in which there has been significant national planning of economic activity as part of the post-Colonial state desire to modernise society. The chapter compares and contrasts the character of the TPM and KHTP parks and the relationship of the activities to processes of urbanisation and the economic advantages of industrial specialisation and diversity.
