The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The authors review the different facets of the incubation process for high-tech companies and highlight its complex and multidimensional nature. They then assess what are the most critical factors in incubation in the context of the market supply and demand for incubation facilities. They identify two key facets, selectivity and productivity requirements, and through these construct a typology that is founded on non-ambiguous factors. They discuss the implications of this typology using data from exploratory research and suggest areas of focus for further empirical studies.

Interest in the role of business incubators in the development of high-technology start-up companies has increased dramatically in recent years. This interest has led to the creation of large numbers of ‘formal’ incubators, offering a wide range of business services to facilitate the development of the companies located within their walls. The authors argue that this may lead to a neglect of the role universities play in incubating high-technology start-up companies. In this paper the following question is considered: what kind of role can and should universities play in the process without being ‘formal’ incubators? In answering this question the role of the university in providing access to resources is examined. Based on a new survey and case material, the authors' contention is that universities are now performing many of the functions of an incubator. However, they differ from many ‘formal’ incubators in that they do not have clearly defined walls.

Companies as incubators try to build success by systematically creating and nurturing new firms. However, there are many elements to a business incubation policy, and the term itself is not well defined. This article first presents a framework of factors, which are then examined in a European-wide survey. The case of The Generics Group illustrates how a company can implement a comprehensive incubation policy. The results show that business incubation within companies is not very common. Most company incubation policies are half-hearted and/or inadequately integrated, although the case study reveals the potential success of business incubation for certain types of parent companies.

In most member states of the European Union a major failing of the innovation system is that inventions generated at universities and other higher education institutes are too rarely commercialized by the creation of new, innovative firms. One reason for this can be found in the accumulation of obstacles that prevent academic researchers with a technology-based business idea from setting up their own company. Such obstacles include a lack of knowledge in business management and negotiation skills, the unknown market potential of products and services, high financial risks and the widespread fear of failure. In this article a new and innovative support scheme is described, based on the concept of ‘pre-incubation’ and set up by the Institute for Innovation Transfer at the University of Bielefeld. The core of the concept is a university-associated facility, the pre-incubator, which is a new device for managing the spin-off process. The innovative feature of the pre-incubator is a specific management, legal and insurance structure that allows academic researchers to test the feasibility of their business ideas before they take the risk of setting up a company. The legal entity of the pre-incubator forms an umbrella under which potential entrepreneurs, guided and controlled by the management staff, can test their products on the market, thus gaining valuable business experience. This experience, in addition to continuous training and coaching, is expected to increase the sustainability of the future company. In addition the article outlines how the concept of pre-incubation is currently implemented at the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia in Spain and the Ecole Polytechnique in France within the framework of the EC-funded innovation project USINE (University Start-up of International Entrepreneurs). An analysis from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, which monitors the transfer process of the pre-incubation scheme within the project, concludes the article by identifying the features of the pre-incubator that set it apart from other tried and tested mechanisms. The adaptability of the model to different national contexts is also discussed, as are the benefits and costs to stakeholders and the ways in which they can measure ‘success’.

The new global economy is a reality. Regional growth and prosperity depend upon our ability to participate in that economy. Today, small high-growth enterprises, fed by intellectual capital, determine which regions thrive and which merely survive. This paper looks at the creation of a network of incubators developed in Northern Ireland since 1998. The rationale for developing sector-specific business incubators focusing on the research strengths of different campuses of the University of Ulster is explained. The role of the knowledge base in the creation and development of high technology companies and the critical factors to be taken into account for future success are discussed.

This paper explores the concept of ‘virtual incubation’. Based on the notion of the virtual organization the authors develop this concept and relate this to phases in the development of companies (from pre-start-up to growth). Next the different tasks a virtual incubator can fulfil are developed and illustrated with some examples of virtual incubators that are already operational in Europe. The final section of the paper draws conclusions regarding the commitment of stakeholders, the best focus for virtual incubation and the kind of services required. One interesting option is the combination of a non-virtual incubator with virtual elements.

This paper presents an overview of the National Technological Incubators Program in Israel and the national technological and economic environment that led to its creation. In essence, a great business opportunity became apparent at the beginning of the 1990s, when a wave of immigration from the countries of the former Soviet Union brought with it a new inflow of technological skills. By way of a case study, the paper discusses the experiences of the Incubator for Technological Entrepreneurship Kiryat Weizmann (ITEK). ITEK, one of the first incubators to be established in Israel, has accumulated significant experience during its 10 years of activity in promoting, running and nurturing zero-stage technological start-ups. Its structure and activities are discussed in detail.

‘Internet Review’ identifies relevant and useful Websites related to entrepreneurship and innovation. In accordance with the theme of this special issue, this article reviews Websites related to incubators. The National Business Incubator Association (NBIA) (http://www.nbia.org/), one of the world's leading organizations advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship, recently undertook a study of the impact of incubator investments. It found that, on average, 30% of an incubator's clients were graduates, and that 87% of incubator graduates remained in business. Notably, entrepreneurs emerging from incubators often prove to be at the leading edge of developing new and innovative technologies, which are increasingly affecting society as the quality of products and services improve.