The intellectual capital of business incubators

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework to analyze the intellectual capital (IC) of new generation business incubators.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper carries out a literature-based analysis of the different components of the IC of business incubators and develops a conceptual framework that links the business incubators’ IC to the IC of incubated firms.

Findings

The paper provides an analytical model able to support practitioners and scholars to better understand and evaluate the IC criticalities and requirements of incubators. The notion of incubation path is developed.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the extant literature about the intangible assets of business incubators by analyzing in detail how these structures use their IC to perform their activities.

Citation

Calza, F., Dezi, L., Schiavone, F. and Simoni, M. (2014), "The intellectual capital of business incubators", Journal of Intellectual Capital, Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 597-610. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIC-07-2014-0086