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Classification and management of incubators: aligning strategic objectives and competitive scope for new business facilitation

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  • Maximilian von Zedtwitz

Abstract

Incubation has recently attracted increased attention as a model of start-up facilitation. Venture capitalists see incubators as a means to diversify risky investment portfolios, and would-be entrepreneurs approach incubators for start-up support. Incubators face the challenge of managing both investment risks and entrepreneurial risks. More than a thousand incubators have been established in the last few years, most of them as regional business incubators. But new types of incubators are emerging. These incubators pursue different strategic objectives, apply different skills and competencies, and serve different markets. As a consequence, they have developed a new understanding of their sources of competitive advantage and business models. Based on 41 interviews with incubation and R&D managers, this paper outlines five incubator archetypes: the university incubator, the independent commercial incubator, the regional business incubator, the company-internal incubator and the virtual incubator. We describe a generic incubator business model, which is refined for different value propositions to customers and other major stakeholders. We conclude that whether an incubator is for profit or not, it should be run as a business. We also summarise some implications for operational and strategic management of incubators, as well as policy and strategy considerations for universities, venture capitalists, municipalities, corporations and other parent institutions of incubators.

Suggested Citation

  • Maximilian von Zedtwitz, 2003. "Classification and management of incubators: aligning strategic objectives and competitive scope for new business facilitation," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 3(1/2), pages 176-196.
    • Handle: RePEc:ids:ijeima:v:3:y:2003:i:1/2:p:176-196
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Deutschmann, Mareike, 2007. "What difference a 'pre' makes: University business preincubators in Germany. A national survey," Lüneburger Beiträge zur Gründungsforschung 5, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Department of Entrepreneurship & Start-up Management.
    2. Eleonora Brivio & Erica Negro Cousa & Vahé Heboyan & Francesco Beltrame & Gianluca De Leo, 2020. "A Synopsis of Incubators in Non-hub Cities in the Southeast United States," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 29(2), pages 428-444, September.
    3. Schwartz Dafna & Bar-El Raphael & Malul Miki, 2008. "A Joint Virtual Advanced Technology Incubator - A New Pattern of Israeli-Palestinian Economic Cooperation," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 14(2), pages 1-19, July.
    4. Chaffik Bakkali & Karim Messeghem & Sylvie Sammut, 2014. "Toward a typology of incubators based on HRM," Post-Print hal-02014834, HAL.
    5. Silvia Sedita & Roberto Grandinetti, 2014. "Relationships at work in a networked business incubator: the case of H-Farm," "Marco Fanno" Working Papers 0190, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche "Marco Fanno".
    6. J. Piet Hausberg & Sabrina Korreck, 2020. "Business incubators and accelerators: a co-citation analysis-based, systematic literature review," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 151-176, February.
    7. Tobias Kruft & Alexander Kock, 2019. "Towards A Comprehensive Categorisation Of Corporate Incubators: Evidence From Cluster Analysis," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(08), pages 1-28, December.
    8. Alexandru CAPATINA & Adrian MICU & Giuseppe EMPOLI, 2022. "Causal Recipes Assessing the Quality Level of Incubation Programs – A Comparative Approach Italy – Romania," Economics and Applied Informatics, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 1, pages 102-110.
    9. Mário Franco & Heiko Haase & Sandra Correia, 2018. "Exploring Factors in the Success of Creative Incubators: a Cultural Entrepreneurship Perspective," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 9(1), pages 239-262, March.
    10. Gozem Guceri-Ucar & Stefan Koch, 2016. "Exploring business incubation practices and relationships to drivers of start-up success in Turkey," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 20(1/2), pages 1-19.
    11. Becker, Kai & Ebbers, Joris J. & Engel, Yuval, 2024. "Going online: Peer entrepreneur networks in a startup accelerator before and during the COVID-19 pandemic," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    12. Amandine Maus & Sylvie Sammut, 2018. "Business model innovation in incubators: the role played by dynamic capabilities theory," Post-Print hal-02466175, HAL.
    13. Aruna Chandra, 2007. "Approaches to Business Incubation: A Comparative Study of the United States, China and Brazil," NFI Working Papers 2007-WP-29, Indiana State University, Scott College of Business, Networks Financial Institute.
    14. Domicián Máté & Ni Made Estiyanti & Adam Novotny, 2024. "How to support innovative small firms? Bibliometric analysis and visualization of start-up incubation," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 1-26, December.
    15. Jérôme Gonthier & Gabriel M. Chirita, 2019. "The role of corporate incubators as invigorators of innovation capabilities in parent companies," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-21, December.

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