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The purpose of this paper is to address the management of undergraduate final year research dissertations. It intends to explain and clarify the experience of two models of delivery (student-led/academic-led) with reference to interest development theory (Hidi and Renninger, 2006).

The authors focus on the advantages and drawbacks of each model within the context of the research literature, and describe a case study of the experiences of lecturers and students in one division of a metropolitan UK university, running a leading programme in speech and language therapy (pathology). Recommendations are made which are intended to be of use to colleagues across disciplines and organisations.

The authors argue that a delivery where students can choose their research topic from a limited set suggested by supervisors (academic-led model) is best placed to meet motivational challenges in Hidi and Renninger’s framework, and also increase feasibility for staff. The authors discuss how such a model might best be implemented.

Describing case study experiences within a conceptual framework is important for the development of improved supervision methods. It is hoped that this case study paper will inform other institutions by providing clear theoretical underpinnings and practical recommendations; and that it will lead to further empirical research into models of organising final year dissertations.

By analyzing variables from the fields of business and neuropsychology, this document examines alternative combinations of behavioral economics and neuropsychological characteristics that would explain a successful entrepreneurial profile.

The research is based on information gathered through a survey of 1,080 entrepreneurs. The findings offer interesting perspectives for academics, professionals and government institutions, which illustrate various neuropsychological characteristics that a person must have to be a successful entrepreneur. The method consists of a novel perspective that integrates qualitative comparative analysis (QCAs), a method based on Boolean algebra that offers a study from a configurational perspective.

From the mixture of configurations, the paper explores following possible traits of an entrepreneurial mindset: cognitive flexibility, risk-taking, decision-making and teamwork.

This paper contributes to the literature on emerging attempts and approaches to understand the entrepreneurial mindset and the possible skillset that underpins successful entrepreneurship.

Mediante el análisis de variables de los campos de los negocios y la neuropsicología, este documento examina combinaciones alternativas de la economía del comportamiento y las características neuropsicológicas que llevan a los emprendedores en perfiles exitosos.

La investigación se basa en información recopilada a través de una encuesta a 1.080 emprendedores. Los hallazgos ofrecen perspectivas interesantes para académicos, profesionales e instituciones gubernamentales, que ilustran diversas características neuropsicológicas que una persona debe tener para ser un emprendedor exitoso. El método consiste en una perspectiva novedosa que integra el análisis comparativo cualitativo (QCA), un método basado en el álgebra de Booleana que ofrece un estudio desde una perspectiva configuracional.

A partir de la mezcla de configuraciones, el artículo explora los siguientes rasgos posibles de una mentalidad emprendedora: flexibilidad cognitiva, toma de riesgos, toma de decisiones y trabajo en equipo.

este documento contribuye a la literatura sobre intentos y enfoques emergentes para comprender la mentalidad emprendedora y el posible conjunto de habilidades que sustenta el emprendimiento exitoso.

The use of information technology in rural and underserved settings is receiving increasing attention because of the immense potential it brings for improving the quality of life and reducing the digital divide. However, high costs coupled with infrastructure and context‐related inhibitors tend to dilute the advantages that are often taken as a set of givens. In this paper we present a case study of a pioneering experience of information system use in a set of villages in southern India. The research proposition for this study is that social processes can form a viable basis for providing sustainability to information communications technology (ICT) initiatives in rural regions. Theoretical support for this study comes from Habermas’ theory of communicative action. Given that such information systems are emancipatory in nature, and given that such information systems face many obstacles, the value added by these systems needs to be assessed in terms of their contribution to social capital in addition to economic value added. Our analysis reveals that social processes can be leveraged to accord viability to ICT setups in rural settings. Many social changes, that may have faced resistance or were unexpected, themselves became the reason for keeping the ICT setup. This is so because these changes form the basis of empowerment and a participatory framework that would have been absent earlier. We provide implications for researchers as well as practitioners.

The existing literature on business incubators has rarely addressed network establishments thus far. The purpose of this study is to shed light on the process of network formation and its structure during the incubator creation process. The study focuses on establishing a network involving three key types of partners in the initial phase of setting up four agribusiness incubators. These partners come from universities, research organisations and private companies operating in a developing context.

This study uses social network theory, using a combination of qualitative and network survey approaches in Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. The qualitative data were used to investigate partnership formation, while the network survey was conducted to map the organisational network of business incubator partners. Constructs of social network theory, including relational content, relational form, centrality of actors and instrumentality, were qualitatively measured in this study.

The findings indicate that partners rely on previous informal relationships, which are formalised during the creation of business incubator partnerships. In the African context, once these relationships are formalised, they become part of what is referred to as business networks, irrespective of the nature of the relationship content. Personal networks serve as precursors to establishing organisational networks that cater to incubated firms. Incubator partners facilitate the networking process and enhance the formation of new connections in the early-stage partnership-based tripartite business incubators. They act as brokers, bridging structural holes by coordinating actors across the hole and linking disconnected nodes by activating their sub-networks. The results reveal that the partners' level of embeddedness in various organisational settings increases the diversity of contacts integrated into the incubator networks. In terms of relational content, partners tend to perceive the ties as business-oriented, even though the content of the relationship may differ. The strength of relationships depends on their formalization and the frequency of interaction.

The findings of the study contradict the reviewed social network literature, emphasising the necessity to adapt methodological approaches based on the cultural and institutional context in which they are applied. The social network questionnaire requires modification when used in different contexts and settings. Specifically, methodologies should be adjusted in situations where actors need to be discreet concerning their various relationships. It is important to note that organisational culture does influence actors' behaviours.

This study is deemed relevant to managers and practitioners of business incubators alike. It highlights that understanding the contextual factors that influence networking practices, the type and strength of networks and the resources provided to participants are crucial elements that should be considered in future policy and intervention initiatives.

This paper addresses the identified gap in examining network formation during the establishment of business incubators. The research is significant as it provides insights into networking at the incubator level of analysis within a tripartite business incubator setup. Ultimately, this paper helps increase our understanding of networking within the context of emerging countries.

The world is currently facing one of the most significant refugee crises in history, posing challenges to policymakers in host countries needing to facilitate socio-economic integration of refugees urgently. Policymakers and scholars have started shedding light on the entrepreneurial potential of refugees. Refugees confront considerable institutional barriers in their new environments. Particularly challenging is that they lose connection to their home country ecosystem through forced displacement and are not yet well-embedded in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem of the host country. The disconnection to the local ecosystem hinders refugees from accessing various resources essential to entrepreneurial activities. Against this background, this chapter illuminates the role of business incubators in integrating refugee entrepreneurs into the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, paying particular attention to relational dynamics within incubators. This study conducts explorative qualitative research with a single case study of a German business incubator for refugees. This study identifies three types of relational dynamics that characterise operation of refugee business incubators and two mechanisms constructive and descriptive to their mission. Finally, this study derives practical implications for refugee business incubators and policymakers in refugee-hosting countries.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main tasks and challenges of the manager role in a hybrid incubator organization, here defined as being one owned by both private companies and public organizations.

The study uses a stakeholder management approach to focus on tasks related to multiple relationships. It employs an interview‐based case method. Semi‐structured qualitative interviews and documents were used to collect data. Interviews with external stakeholders provided additional information about management tasks and how they appear in the incubation context. The role of the incubator and the manager is described through the stories of three different technology ventures, which the incubator worked with at the time of the study.

The tasks and challenges of the incubator manager concentrated around helping incubated companies gain access to much‐needed knowledge. Different modes of knowledge were added to the start‐up companies from the incubator's staff and manager and the owner companies. In order to manage knowledge flows effectively, organisational knowledge mode was highly valuable to the incubator manager. The hybrid corporate incubator's assignment is more diverse and less associated with the parent companies' core strategies than what is typical for a corporate incubator's assignment. Production of shareholder value did not have the highest priority. Other stakeholder groups than the shareholders reaped most of the benefit from the incubator's work.

The paper discusses practical challenges tied to the work of incubator managers such as the need to be able to maintain relationships, align diverging interests and manage expectations from different stakeholders.

No previous studies have examined corporate incubator management through a single‐case study. A corporate incubator's different stakeholders have not often been examined.

The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize business incubators and their support for entrepreneurial refugees. While the number of initiatives supporting refugees’ entrepreneurial activities has increased in recent years, we still know little about how they differ from other types of business incubators.

This case study investigates a business incubator in Hamburg, Germany, targeting enterprising refugees. For this paper, 14 in-depth interviews with program participants and incubation managers were conducted.

This paper inductively derives five functional domains of refugee business incubators: providing structured entrepreneurial knowledge; alleviating anxiety related to institutional differences; guiding through the process at the incubator and motivating participants; understanding and tapping into social capital in the host country; and providing soft support concerning personal matters. The findings show that business incubators could and possibly should address specific needs of refugees and that there is much room for improvement. This study suggests that the five domains listed above represent key characteristics that distinguish refugee business incubators from traditional business incubators.

This paper offers valuable practical insights for refugee business incubators, which need to consider and develop functional domains listed above. Because these kinds of incubators are a fairly recent phenomenon, there is a general lack of and need for blueprints. The findings of this paper suggest that business incubators could integrate and support entrepreneurial refugees provided that they consider the five functional domains identified here. The findings also provide evidence that entrepreneurship can be a possible means of vocational integration for refugees and one way of institutions and policy-makers in host country seeking to support refugees’ entrepreneurial activities, for example, by developing or subsidizing business incubators targeting refugees.

This paper’s contributions are twofold. First, this paper addresses a gap in the literature on refugee entrepreneurship by providing insights concerning the important role of support institutions. Second, this paper conceptualizes business incubators for enterprising refugees as a distinctive type of business incubators. This paper has, however, some limitations. Because it only considered a relatively small number of refugee entrepreneurs, it is difficult to generalize the findings. The cross-cultural setting of the empirical study, with its potential for linguistic and cultural misunderstandings, may have affected the results.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights on the relational dimension of a networked business incubator (NBI), by investigating the intermediary role of incubator management in fostering social and business ties linking tenants among each other, with the incubator management and external actors.

The paper offers a literature review on the NBIs and advances a comprehensive analytical framework of the networked incubation model. This framework is empirically illustrated through a case study research on a leading Italian private NBI, namely, H-Farm. The collection of primary data was conducted by means of face-to-face in-depth interviews and a survey. Data were processed through social network analysis (SNA) tools.

The results highlight the co-presence and interaction of social and business ties, which build up a vital environment nurturing an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Community-based relationships and the intermediation of incubator management are crucial for supporting tenants in product and business development activities.

These results pave the way to further research, oriented to the conceptualization of a NBI as a (small) cluster. Moreover, the application of the SNA tools adopted invites further research on networked incubators, applying the same methodology in new directions.

This paper adds to previous literature on NBIs by providing evidence of the intermediary role of incubator management in promoting and facilitating social and business relationships occurring among tenants, between tenants and the incubator management, as well as with external advisors, clients and suppliers.

This study explores the different learning practices of Chinese incubators in Chongqing and Chengdu and delves into how these “learning huddles” influence incubatees' absorptive capacity (the ability to apply knowledge) to improve their chance of success (sustainable growth).

This explorative study uses a qualitative case study approach by means of semi-structured interviews with business incubation managers and incubatees across three business incubators in Chengdu and Chongqing. The data are transcribed, coded and analyzed using an analytic map for the explanation of building and reflecting on the theoretical propositions, leading to a further understanding of the “learning huddle” mechanism.

The study finds that incubatees perceive that their absorptive capacity is increased through vicarious informal learning practices that promote access to networks and thereby builds social capital to improve their likelihood of success.

This study has limitations in sample size and design. The explorative case study approach uses a nonrandom case selection of three incubators in Chongqing and Chengdu and has a limited number of interviewees, which may lack representation of the general Chinese business incubation population and may not sufficiently be generalized beyond the sample itself.

These findings have important implications for business incubation programs. Business incubators that build learning huddles (networks) create a nurturing shared learning environment, which is suitable for incubatees to collectively absorb knowledge at the early stage of their life cycle and improve their likelihood of sustainable growth.

Since this study is limited to a Chinese context, it is also hoped that future researchers use the typology of business incubator learning practices to explore cross-culture variables, as these may influence the business incubation operations and performance.

This study adds to the discussion on how collective learning practices facilitate absorptive capacity and build social capital, which in turn improves incubatees' chance of sustainable growth and as such the authors hope that the learning practice's typology and how incubatees determine their success stimulates further research for measuring the likelihood of incubatees sustainable growth.

This chapter uses an intellectual capital (IC) qualitative approach for assessing the bio health technologies entrepreneurial ecosystem of a university located in Southern Europe, aiming to identify the role played by IC in fostering the sustainable success of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. There has been limited research dedicated to deepening the knowledge of the entrepreneurial ecosystems’ dimensions, using an IC lens, in the context of university cities with different dimensions. Small cities may not have some dimensions, so developed, comparing with the ones of the ecosystems of large urban centers. This chapter uses a qualitative approach funded in a case study exploring internal and external stakeholders of a Portuguese entrepreneurial ecosystem, UBImedical, targeted at the bio health sector. The study is part of an exploratory study funded in the scope of a European Project, aiming to explore in a pioneering way the application of the dominant triad of capitals forming IC and, thus, identifying and understanding the dimensions of different entrepreneurial ecosystems. The case study reveals that the IC’s dimensions more critical for the success of the bio health entrepreneurial ecosystems are the structural capital and the relational capital, although human capital is perceived as a basic prerequisite for fostering the entrepreneurial ecosystem’s performance. The results are funded in primary and qualitative data collected from the interviews developed to previously identified external and internal stakeholders of this type of entrepreneurial ecosystem under study.