Abstract

A recent phenomenon in Ethiopia, Industrial Parks (IPs) have been one of the pillars of industrialization in many East Asian and Latin American countries. This study aims at examining the determinants of Industrial parks short term operational performance in the Ethiopian context by taking the example of the first state run Bole Lemi Industrial Park. Although the determinants of short (static) and long (dynamic) term performance of Industrial Parks have already been identified world-wide, the same cannot be said in the context of Ethiopia. Hence, this study aims to fill in the literature gap by trying to identify the determinants of the operational performance of the first Public Industrial Park of Bole Lemi and study their effects on the overall short term operational performance of the Industrial Park. In order to do so, a cross-sectional study was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative methods where all eleven industrial units and all three government institutions found inside the IP have participated. Through a non- probabilistic purposive sampling thirty six participants with a 70% response rate have participated in this study. The triangulation of descriptive statistics, binary regression results and interviews have shown that in the case of Bole Lemi IP, the determinants of short term operational performance in Bole Lemi are related to Industrial Park and national business environment and more specifically the high level of labour turnover and the absence of adequately skilled labor force.