ABSTRACT
This chapter presents novel empirical evidence on contemporary Russian science and technology parks, which are instruments of innovation promotion in Russia. This evidence was collected through two surveys: one of the managers of STPs in Russia and one of the resident firms within three different Russian STPs.
The findings from the 2015 to 2016 survey data show that Russia has enthusiastically embraced STPs since the early 1990s. This highlights that there are some first movers in this area who are acting as entrepreneurs to find opportunities for growth and seek ways to overcome or lessen binding constraints or obstacles to innovative entrepreneurship (Stage 1 of the model used in this book). The types of founders of STPs in Russia (state, private, and public–private actors) increases the chances of varying outcomes or “positive variations of performance” (Stage 1). Such regional variation in the organisation and impacts of STPs in Russia is also evidence of the “institutional hierarchy” concept (Chapter 2). Yet, one downside is that STPs in Russia arguably gave too much attention to the construction phase of STPs, neglecting the creation of linkages with external organisations (Stage 1). STPs in Russia have generally, with a couple of exceptions, not yet forged global linkages (Stage 3).
