THE ROLE OF DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS (DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS, TECHNOLOGY PARKS, INDUSTRIAL PARKS) IN SHAPING A REGIONAL IT ECOSYSTEM

Information technology (IT) companies and their staff are highly mobile, which makes the creation of a self-sustaining regional IT ecosystem one of the key tasks of regional policy. This study aims to assess the role of development institutions — regional development corporations, technology parks and industrial parks — in shaping such ecosystems and to identify ways of improving their performance. The study is based on a structured narrative review of peer-reviewed international literature on science and technology parks, industrial parks, regional development agencies, entrepreneurial ecosystems and the location of new information and communication technology (ICT) firms, interpreted through an ecosystem and institutional lens. The review shows that the effect of parks is uneven: they generate spillovers where they are embedded in local economies with strong human capital and business linkages, while elsewhere their contribution is modest or uncertain. Regional development agencies often perform a narrow, property-based service function that suits industrial projects better than technology start-ups. The paper proposes a framework of three functions of development institutions (infrastructure, coordination and investment, financial services) and recommends new performance indicators, an ecosystem-operator role for development corporations, closer integration with the banking sector and support for local demand. These measures can be used by regional authorities when updating IT industry development strategies.