This article seeks to construct and examine a model of entrepreneurial learning in incubation programmes by investigating focal tenants’ proactive leveraging of incubator-tenant social capital. Few have examined the interrelationships between social capital, interorganizational learning and incubation from a perspective treating tenant firms as focal actors. Surveys were collected from incubation programmes in Taiwan, where innovation and knowledge-based entrepreneurship is a critical success factor for both social and economic progress. Data were analysed by multiple regression and structural equation modelling. Results indicate that tenants’ proactive utilization of tenant-incubator social capital positively influences interorganizational learning mechanisms (OLM), which in turn transforms the benefit of social relationships into tenants’ performance, in terms of technological capability, managerial competence and satisfaction with (the) incubation programme. Theoretically, this article complements interorganizational network and interorganizational relation perspectives of social capital to understand the complex entrepreneurial learning, value creation and appropriation for entrepreneurial firms in incubation programmes. We argue that strong relationship and network contents with the hub organization can complement weakness in structural status. Practically, design for strategic networking practices, interorganizational learning management for capability building and innovation and policy considerations are discussed.
Abduh D.’Souza C., Quazi A. and Burley HT ( 2007) Investigating and classifying clients’ satisfaction with business incubator services. Managing Service Quality17: 74-91.
2.
Adler PS, Kwon SW, (2002) Social capital: Prospects for a new concept. Academy of Management Review27: 17-40.
3.
Ahuja G. ( 2000) Collaboration networks, structural holes, and innovation: A Longitudinal study. Administrative Science Quarterly45: 425-455.
4.
Ahuja G., Katila R., (2001) Technological acquisitions and the innovation performance of acquiring firms: A longitudinal study. Strategic Management Journal22: 197-220.
5.
Albert S., Ashforth BE, and Dutton JE ( 2000) Organisational identity and identification: Charting new waters and building new bridges. Academy of Management Review25: 13.
6.
Allen DN, Rahman S., (1985) Small business incubators: A positive environment for entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business Management23: 12-22.
7.
Anderson A., Park J., and Jack S. ( 2007) Entrepreneurial social capital: Conceptualizing social capital in new high-tech firms. International Small Business Journal25: 245-272.
8.
Argyris C., Schon DA ( 1978) Organisational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective . Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley .
9.
Armstrong JS, Overton TS, (1977) Estimating non-response bias in mail surveys. Journal of Marketing Research24: 396-402.
10.
Baker WE, Sinkula JM, (1999) The synergistic effect of market orientation and learning orientation on organisational performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science27: 411-427.
11.
Barney JB, Ouchi WG (eds) (1986) Organisational Economics: Toward a New Paradigm for Understanding and Studying Organisations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
12.
Batjargal B. ( 2003) Social capital and entrepreneurial performance in Russia: A longitudinal study. Organisation Studies24: 535-556.
13.
Bessant J., Caffyn S., and Gilbert J. ( 1996) Learning to manage innovation. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management8: 59.
14.
Birley S. ( 1985) The role of networks in the entrepreneurial process . Journal of Business Venturing1: 107-117.
15.
Bollingtoft A., Ulhoi JP, (2005) The networked business incubator: Leveraging entreprenuerial agency? Journal of Business Venturing20: 265-290.
16.
Borgatti SP, Cross R., (2003) A relational view of information seeking and learning in social networks. Management Science49: 432-445.
17.
Bower DJ, Young A., (1995) Influences on technology strategy in the UK oil-and gas-related industry network. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management7: 407.
18.
Bowey JL, Easton G., (2007) Entrepreneurial social capital unplugged: An activity-based analysis. International Small Business Journal25: 273-306.
19.
Browne MW, Cudeck R. ( 1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In: Bollen, KA and Long JS (eds) Testing Structural Equation Models. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE, 136-162.
20.
Burt RS ( 1992) Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
21.
Carayannis EG, Alexander J., and Ioannidis A. ( 2000) Leveraging knowledge, learning, and innovation in forming strategic government-university-industry (Gui) R&D partnerships in the US, Germany, and France. Technovation20: 477-488.
22.
Carayannis EG, Popescu D., Sipp C., et al. (2006) Technological learning for entrepreneurial development (Tl4ed) in the knowledge economy (KE): Case studies and lessons learned. Technovation26: 419-443.
23.
Casson M., Giusta MD, (2007) Entrepreneurship and social capital: Analysing the impact of social networks on entrepreneurial activity from a rational action perspective. International Small Business Journal25: 220-244.
24.
Chan KF, Lau T., (2005) Assessing technology incubator programs in the science park: The good, the bad and the ugly. Technovation25: 1215-1228.
25.
Chang P.-L, Shih H.-Y, (2004) The innovation systems of Taiwan and China: A comparative analysis. Technovation24: 529-539.
26.
Chang P.-L, Shih C., and Hsu C.-W (1993) Taiwan’s approach to technological change: The case of integrated circuit design. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management5: 173.
27.
Chell E. ( 2007) Social enterprise and entrepreneurship: Towards a convergent theory of the entrepreneurial process. International Small Business Journal25: 5-26.
28.
Chiesa V., Toletti G., (2004) Network of collaborations for innovation: The case of biotechnology. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management16: 73-96.
29.
Child J. ( 2001) Trust: The fundamental bond in global collaboration . Organizational Dynamics29: 274-288.
30.
Clercq DD, Arenius P., (2006) The role of knowledge in business start-up activity . International Small Business Journal24: 339-358.
31.
Cohen J., Cohen P., West SG, et al. (2003) Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
32.
Cooke FL ( 2002) Harnessing the firm-specific knowledge of the maintenance workforce for organisational competitiveness. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management14: 123-140.
33.
Cooper SY, Park JS, (2008) The impact of ‘incubator’ organisations on opportunity recognition and technology innovation in new, entrepreneurial high-technology ventures. International Small Business Journal26: 27-56.
34.
Cope J., Jack S., and Rose MB ( 2007) Social capital and entrepreneurship: An introduction . International Small Business Journal25: 213-219.
35.
D’Aveni RA, Gunther R. ( 1994) Hypercompetition: Managing the Dynamics of Strategic Maneuvering . New York: Free Press .
36.
Dalley J., Hamilton B., (2000) Knowledge, context and learning in the small business . International Small Business Journal18: 51-59.
37.
Deakins D., Ishaq M., Smallbone D., et al. (2007) Ethnic minority businesses in Scotland and the role of social capital. International Small Business Journal25: 307-326.
38.
Dew N., Velamuri SR, and Venkataraman S. ( 2004) Dispersed knowledge and an entrepreneurial theory of the firm. Journal of Business Venturing19: 659-679.
39.
Dhanaraj C., Parkhe A., (2006) Orchestrating innovation networks. Academy of Management Review31: 659-669.
40.
Dierkes M., Antal AB, Child J., et al. (2001) Handbook of Organisational Learning and Knowledge. Oxford University Press.
41.
Dixon ND ( 2000) Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School.
42.
Dodd SD, Jack S., and Anderson AR ( 2002) Scottish entrepreneurial networks in the international context. International Small Business Journal20: 213-219.
43.
Dodgson M. ( 1993) Organisational learning A review of some literatures . Organisation Studies14: 375-394.
44.
Doz Y. ( 1996) The evolution of cooperation in strategic alliance: Initial conditions or learning process? Strategic Management Journal17: 55-83.
45.
Drucker PF ( 1993) Post-Capitalist Society. New York: Harper Business.
46.
Dyer JH ( 1996) Does governance matter?: Keiretsu alliances and asset specificity as sources of Japanese competitive advantage. Organisation Science7: 649-666.
47.
Dyer JH, Nobeoka K., (2000) Creating and managing a high-performance knowledge-sharing network: The Toyota case. Strategic Management Journal21: 345-367.
48.
Dyer JH, Singh H., (1998) The relational view: Cooperative strategy and sources of interorganisational competitive advantage. Academy of Management Review23: 660-679.
49.
Eisenhardt KM ( 1989) Making fast strategic decisions in high-velocity environments . Academy of Management Journal32: 543-576.
50.
Ekanem I., Smallbone D., (2007) Learning in small manufacturing firms: The case of investment decision-making behaviour. International Small Business Journal25: 107-129.
51.
Freeman LC ( 1979) Centrality in social networks: Conceptual clarification . Social Networks1: 215-239.
52.
Fukugawa N. ( 2005) Characteristics of knowledge interactions between universities and small firms in Japan. International Small Business Journal23: 379-401.
53.
Galaskiewicz J. ( 1985) Interorganisational relations. Annual Review of Sociology11: 281-304.
54.
Galaskiewicz J., Wasserman S., (1993) Social network analysis: Concepts, methodology, and directions for the, 1990s. Sociological Methods & Research22: 3-22.
55.
Garcia-Muina FE, Navas-Lopez JE ( 2007) Explaining and measuring success in new business: The effect of technological capabilities on firm results. Technovation27: 30-46.
56.
Gemser G., Leenders Maam, and Wijnberg NM ( 1996) The dynamics of inter-firm networks in the course of the industry life cycle: The role of appropriability. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management8: 439.
57.
Gherardi S., Nicolini D., and Odella F. ( 1998) Toward a social understanding of how people learn in organizations . Management Learning29: 273-297.
58.
Gilsing VA, Lemmens Ceav, and Duysters G. ( 2007) Strategic alliance networks and innovation: A deterministic and voluntaristic view combined. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management19: 227-249.
59.
Granovetter M. ( 1985) Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness . American Journal of Sociology91: 481-510.
60.
Grant RM ( 1996) Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal17: 109-122.
61.
Grimaldi R., Grandi A., (2005) Business incubators and new venture creation: An assessment of incubating models. Technovation25: 111-121.
62.
Groen AJ, Wakkee IA, and De Weerd-Nederhof PC (2008) Managing tensions in a high-tech start-up: An innovation journey in social system perspective. International Small Business Journal26: 57-81.
63.
Gulati R. ( 1995) Dose familiarity breed trust?: The implications of repeated ties for contractual choice in alliance. Academy of Management Journal38: 85-112.
64.
Gulati R. ( 1998) Alliances and networks. Strategic Management Journal19: 293-317.
65.
Gulati R., Singh H., (1998) The architecture of cooperation: Managing coordination costs and appropriation concerns in strategic alliances. Administrative Science Quarterly43: 781-814.
Hadjimanolis A., Dickson K., (2000) Innovation strategies of SMEs in Cyprus, a small developing country. International Small Business Journal18: 62-79.
68.
Hakansson H., Huysman M., and von Raesfeld Meijer A. (2001) Inter-organisational interaction and organisational teaching. In: Hakansson H and Johason J (eds) Busness Network Learning. Oxford: Pergamon.
69.
Hakansson H., Johason J. ( 2001) Busness network learning: Basic considerations . In: Hakansson H and Johason J (eds) Business Network Learning . Oxford: Pergamon, 1-16.
70.
Hamel G. ( 1991) Competition for competence and inter-partner within international strategic alliances. Strategic Management Journal12: 83-103.
71.
Hansen MT ( 1999) The search-transfer problem: The role of weak ties in sharing knowledge across organisation subunits. Administrative Science Quarterly44: 82-111.
72.
Hansen MT, Chesbrough HW, Nohria N., et al. (2000). ‘Networked Incubators: Hothouses of the New Economy’. Harvard Business Review78: 74-83.
73.
Huber GP ( 1991) Organisational learning: The contributing processes and the literature. Organisation Science2: 88-115.
74.
Hung H. ( 2006) Formation and survival of new ventures: A path from interpersonal to interorganisational networks. International Small Business Journal24: 359-378.
75.
Ibarra H., Kilduff M., and Tsai W., (2005) Zooming in and out: Connecting individuals and collectivities at the frontiers of organisational network research. Organisation Science16: 359-371.
76.
Inkpen AC ( 1998) Learning, knowledge acquisition, and strategic alliances . European Management Journal16: 223-229.
77.
Inkpen AC ( 2000) Learning through joint ventures: A framework of knowledge acquisition. Journal of Management Studies37: 1019-1043.
78.
Jansen JJP, Van den Bosch FAJ, and Volberda HW, (2005) Managing potential and realized absorptive capacity: How do organisational antecedents matter? Academy of Management Journal48: 999-1015.
79.
Jones O., Craven M., (2001) Expanding capabilities in a mature manufacturing firm: Absorptive capacity and the TCS. International Small Business Journal19: 39-55.
80.
Joreskog KG, Sorbom D., (1993) LISREL Operation Handbook. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
81.
Kale P., Singh H., and Perlmutter H. ( 2000) Learning and protection assets in strategic alliance: Building relational capital. Strategic Management Journal21: 217-237.
82.
Kim L. ( 1999) Building technological capability for industrialization: Analytical frameworks and Korea’s experience. Industrial and Corporate Change8: 111-136.
83.
Kogut B., Zander U., (1996) What firms do?: Coordination, identity, and learning . Organisation Science7: 502.
84.
Koka BR, Prescott JE, (2002) Strategic alliances as social capital: A multidimensional view. Strategic Management Journal23: 795-816.
85.
Lai H-C., Chiu Y-C., and Leu H-D. ( 2005) Innovation capacity comparison of China’s information technology industrial clusters: The case of Shanghai, Kunshan, Shenzhen and Dongguan. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management17: 293-315.
86.
Lam A. ( 2003) Organisational learning in multinationals: R & D networks of Japanese and US MNEs in the UK. Journal of Management Studies40: 673-703.
87.
Lane PJ, Lubatkin M., (1998) Relative absorptive capacity and interorganisational learning. Strategic Management Journal19: 461-477.
88.
Larson A. ( 1992) Network dyads in entrepreneurial settings: A study of the governance of exchange relationships. Administrative Science Quarterly37: 76-104.
89.
Larsson R., Bengtsson L., Henriksson K., et al. (1998) The interorganisational learning dilemma: Collective knowledge development in strategic alliances. Organisation Science9: 285-305.
90.
Lavie D. ( 2006) The competitive advantage of interconnected firms: An extension of the resource-based view. Academy of Management Review31: 638-658.
91.
Lorenzoni G., Lipparini A., (1999) The leveraging of interfirm relationships as a distinctive organisation capability: A longitudinal study. Strategic Management Journal20: 317-338.
92.
Lynskey MJ ( 1999) The transfer of resources and competencies for developing technological capabilities: The case of Fujitsu-ICL. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management11: 317-336.
93.
Lynskey MJ ( 2004) Determinants of innovative activity in Japanese technology-based start-up firms. International Small Business Journal22: 159-196.
94.
Major EJ, Cordey-Hayes M., (2000) Engaging the business support network to give smes the benefit of foresight. Technovation20: 589-602.
95.
March JG, Olsen JP, (1975) Organisational learning under ambiguity. European Journal of Policy Review3: 147-171.
96.
Marques JPC, Caraca JMG, and Diz H. ( 2006) How can university-industry-government interactions change the innovation scenario in Portugal?: The case of the University of Coimbra . Technovation26: 534-542.
97.
Massey DB, Quintas P., and Wield D. ( 1992) High-Tech Fantasies: Science Parks in Society, Science and Space. London: Routledge .
98.
McAdam M., Galbraith B., McAdam R. et al. (2006) Business processes and networks in university incubators: A review and research agendas. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management18: 451-472.
99.
McEvily B., Zaheer A., (1999) Bridging ties: A source of firm heterogeneity in competitive capabilities. Strategic Management Journal20: 1133-1156.
100.
Mohr JJ, Senguta S., (2002) Managing the paradox of inter-firm learning: The role of governance mechanisms. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing17: 282-301.
101.
Mowery DC, Oxley JE, and Silverman BS ( 1996) Strategic alliance and interfirm knowledge transfer . Strategic Management Journal17: 77-91.
102.
Nahapiet J., Ghoshal S., (1998) Social capital, intellectual capital and the organisational advantage. Academy of Management Review23: 242-266.
103.
Nauwelaers C., Wintjes R., (2002) Innovating SMEs and regions: The need for policy intelligence and interactive policies. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management14: 201-215.
104.
Neergaard H. ( 2005) Networking activities in technology-based entrepreneurial teams. International Small Business Journal23: 257-278.
105.
Nicolini D., Menzar MB, (1995) The social construction of organisational learning: Conceptual and practical issues in the field. Human Relations48: 727-746.
106.
Nonaka I., Toyama R., and Konno N. ( 2000) SECI Ba, and leadership: A unified model of dynamic knowledge creation. Long Range Planning33: 5-34.
107.
Nooteboom B. ( 2000) Learning by interaction: Absorptive capability, cognitive distance and governance. Journal of Management and Governance4: 69-92.
108.
Nunnally JC ( 1978) Psychometric Theory. New York : McGrawHill.
109.
Podsakoff PM, Organ DW, (1986) Self-reports in organisational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management12: 69-82.
110.
Popper M., Lipshitz R., (1998) Organisational learning mechanisms: A structural and cultural approach to organisational learning. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science34: 161-179.
111.
Powell TC ( 1995) Total quality management as competitive advantage: A review and empirical study. Strategic Management Journal16: 15-37.
112.
Powell TC ( 1996) How much does industry matter?: An alternative empirical test. Strategic Management Journal17: 323-334.
113.
Powell WW, Kogut KW, and Smoth-Doerr L. ( 1996) Interorganisational collaboration and locus of innovation: Networks of learning in biotechnology. Administration and Society41: 285-307.
114.
Rae D. ( 2006) Entrepreneurial learning: A conceptual framework for technology-based enterprise. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management18: 39-56.
115.
Ravald A., Gronroos C., (1996) The value concept and relationship marketing. European Journal of Marketing30: 19-30.
116.
Robertson TS, Gatignon H., (1998) Technology development mode: A transaction cost conceptualization. Strategic Management Journal19: 515-531.
117.
Rothschild L., Darr A., (2005) Technological incubators and the social construction of innovation networks: An Israeli case study. Technovation25: 59-67.
118.
Schulz M. ( 2002) Organisational learning. In: Baum JAC (ed.) Blackwell Companion to Organisations. Oxford: Blackwell , 415-441.
119.
Senker J., Sharp M., (1997) Organisational learning in cooperative alliances: Some case studies in biotechnology. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management9: 35.
120.
Shaw E. ( 2006) Small firm networking: An insight into contents and motivating factors. International Small Business Journal24: 5-29.
121.
Spicer DP, Sadler-Smith E., (2006) Organisational learning in smaller manufacturing firms. International Small Business Journal24: 133-158.
122.
Steenhuis H-J., De Bruijn EJ, (2002) Technology transfer and learning. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management14: 57-66.
123.
Sung J., Hopkins M., (2006) Towards a method for evaluating technological expectations: Revealing uncertainty in gene silencing technology discourse. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management18: 345-359.
124.
Szulanski G. ( 1996) Exploring internal stickiness: Impediments to the transfer of best practice within the firm. Strategic Management Journal17: 27-43.
125.
Teece D. ( 1998) Capturing value from knowledge assets: The new economy, markets for know-how, and intangible assets. California Management Review40: 55-79.
126.
Thorpe R., Gold J., Holt R., et al. (2006) Immaturity: The constraining of entrepreneurship . International Small Business Journal24: 232-250.
127.
Totterman H., Sten J., (2005) Start-ups: Business incubation and social capital . International Small Business Journal23: 487-511.
128.
Tsai F.-S, Hsieh H.-Y, Fang SC, et al. (2009). The Co-evolution of Business Incubation and National Innovation System in Taiwan. Technological Forecasting & Social Change76(5): 629-643.
129.
Tsai W. ( 2001) Knowledge transfer in intraorganisational networks: Effect of network position and absorptive capacity on business unit innovation and performance. Academy of Management Journal44: 996-1004.
130.
Tsai W., Ghoshal S., (1998) Social capital and value creation: The role of intrafirm networks. Academy of Management Journal41: 464-476.
131.
Ulhøi JP ( 2005) The social dimensions of entrepreneurship. Technovation25: 939-946.
132.
Uzzi B. ( 1996) Embeddedness and immigration: Notes on the social determinants of economic action. American Sociological Review61: 674-698.
133.
Van Wyk RJ ( 1997) Strategic technology scanning. Technological Forecasting & Social Change55: 21-28.
134.
Vedovello C., Godinho M., (2003) Business incubators as a technological infrastructure for supporting small innovative firms’ activities. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management3(1,2): 4-31.
135.
Verspagen B. ( 1999) Large firms and knowledge flows in the Dutch R&D system: A case study of Philips Electronics. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management11: 211-233.
136.
Vinck D., Kahane B., Laredo P., et al. (1993) A network approach to studying research programmes: Mobilizing and coordinating public responses to Hiv/Aids’ . Technology Analysis & Strategic Management5: 39.
137.
von Krogh G., Ichijo K., and Nonaka I. ( 2000) Enabling Knowledge Creation: How to Unlock the Mystery of Tacit Knowledge and Release of Innovation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
138.
Walker G., Kogut B., and Shan W. ( 1997) Social capital, structural holes and the formation of an industry network. Organisation Science8: 109.
139.
Weick KE ( 1979) The Social Psychology of Organizing, 2nd edn. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley .
140.
Yli-Renko H., Autio E., and Sapienza HJ ( 2001) Social capital, knowledge acquisition, and knowledge exploitation in young technology-based firms. Strategic Management Journal22: 587-613.
141.
Zaheer A., Venkatraman N., (1995) Relational governance as an interorganisational strategy: An empirical test of the role of trust in economic exchange. Strategic Management Journal16: 373-392.
142.
Zahra AS, George G., (2002) Absorptive capacity: A review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Review27: 185-203.
143.
Zahra AS, Nielsen AP, (2002) Sources of capabilities, integration and technology commercialization. Strategic Management Journal23: 377-398.
144.
Zhang M., Macpherson A., and Jones O. ( 2006) Conceptualizing the learning process in SMEs: Improving innovation through external orientation. International Small Business Journal24: 299-323.
