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Technology business incubators (TBIs) form an indispensable part of an entrepreneurial ecosystem for the promotion of tech start-ups across the global economy. However, they have evolved in varied forms over a period of time, in terms of typologies, sponsors and stakeholders, goals and objectives, functions and services offered, process of incubation support provided through hard and soft infrastructure, outcomes and achievements and even in terms of theoretical bases. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to review the extant literature on TBIs to arrive at a framework that explains how TBIs contribute to start-up generation.

This paper reviews extant empirical literature for a systematic evaluation to throw light on the various dimensions of TBIs: typology, goals and objectives, functions and services, process and provision of incubation support, outcomes and achievements. Further, after critically reviewing some of the theoretical propositions, it develops a conceptual framework combining pre-incubation, incubation and post-incubation processes of TBIs.

Based on literature understanding and some of the key theoretical constructs, a conceptual framework is developed comprising pre-incubation, incubation and post-incubation stages of start-up formation and graduation. The paper also identifies some prospective areas for future research.

Any empirical research on technology business incubation must focus on pre-incubation and post-incubation processes as much as on the incubation process, to derive meaningful implications and enhance the productivity of TBIs.

The conceptual framework derived out of the systematic literature review will enable further research and exploration of micro-aspects of pre-incubation, incubation and post-incubation phases across multiple dimensions.

The purpose of this study is to explore how do the characteristics of technology business incubators (TBIs), their chief executive officers, selection process and incubation process influence their research and development (R&D) contributions to the national economy.

These research questions are probed based on primary data gathered from 65 TBIs located in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, 3 of the leading start-up hubs of India comprising 9 accelerators, 31 incubators and 25 co-working spaces. Stepwise (backward elimination) regression method has been applied for six regression models for the analysis of research objectives.

Incubators more than accelerators and co-working spaces have incurred R&D investments for infrastructure development and hired exclusive R&D personnel. External networks and size of incubators in terms of number of incubatees are decisive for R&D investments and new products/services. TBIs accounted for a negligible share of patents relative to the number of new products/services generated in these TBIs, thereby indicating “low level of novelty/innovativeness” of new products/services. However, both new products/services and patent applications are crucial for revenue generation, implying that the generated new products/services are able to penetrate the market and patent application submission can act as a “signal” to the market.

The overall research findings portend that there is scope and potential for an increasing R&D contribution to emerge from the TBIs along with their incubated start-ups, to supplement the national R&D efforts in India in the future. The emphasis, of course, has to be more on strengthening the innovation ecosystem through TBIs by means of industry–institute partnerships.

This study’s practical implications refer to the need to promote TBIs as a means of strengthening regional innovation systems in developing economies.

TBIs can be a means of nurturing tech start-ups for generating employment and income in regional economies.

This is a first of its kind study with reference to an emerging economy exploring to understand the extent of R&D contributions emerging from TBIs, which have been promoted on an increasing scale across the country as a means of nurturing technology start-ups.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between strategic assets and the launch of new products in technology-based incubators (TBIs) in Brazil.

The authors applied two surveys, one for the universe of TBIs’ managers in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the other to the incubated firms’ managers/owners. Two statistical techniques were used: correlation analysis and multiple linear regression.

The main finding of this paper is that TBIs’ strategies focusing on the supply of knowledge assets and the creation of relationship assets are more effective than strategies focused only on the supply of physical infrastructure for firms located in incubators.

Because the sample of 100 respondents of incubated companies was the result of a non-probabilistic convenience sampling, the outcomes also cannot be generalized.

For managers of TBIs, there is a challenge to focus on the supply of intangible and high value added assets for incubated firms. For managers/owners of incubated firms, the authors provide an orientation to what they should seek or demand when deciding where to place their business in a TBI. For the government, the results of this research may help to formulate public policies to support and incentivize TBIs. For investors, the results can help to define where to seek the most innovative projects.

Innovation and entrepreneurship are understood as sources of wealth creation and social development.

The authors propose in this paper that there is a theoretical gap between traditional theories of innovation and entrepreneurship and the strategic behavior and performance of business incubators and their interconnected stakeholders. Here the authors seek to bridge this gap.

This study aims to explore key factors and specific ways for the upgrade to hybrid incubators in the context of China. A hybrid incubator means that a technology-based business incubators (TBIs) can implement various distinct value creation processes with the integration of the advantages of non-for-profit and for-profit TBIs at same time as Chinese government now requires government-sponsored non-for-profit TBIs to be profitable self-sustainability with less dependent on direct public subsidies, aiming to motivate these TBIs to provide higher quality services for their tenant new technology-based firms (NTBFs).

This study conducts a single in-depth case-study of Tuspark Incubator (located in Tsinghua Science Park [TSP]) with categorical analysis.

Three factors, i.e. incubation subdivision, intermediary platform and proactive approach, are found to be essential for a formerly government-sponsored TBI’s upgrading. Incubation subdivision enables Tuspark Incubator to create multiple incubation processes with incubator characteristic variables of both non-for-profit and for-profit incubators; with the establishment of intermediary platform, Tuspark Incubator provides specialized business support and high-quality networking from relevant specialized service organizations external to the incubator; more proactive approach with equity investment on incubating firms from Tuspark Incubator help to generate social welfare and financial profit at the same time.

For the incubators’ managers, incubation subdivision enables TBIs to operate for-profit and non-for-profit processes at the same time and provides different specific needs; more open intermediary service platforms can leverage the full potential of the actors in innovation system and help TBIs to save resource when upgrading to hybrid incubators; proactive approaches nurture learning climate and entrepreneurship environment to enhance the successful rate on NTBFs inside incubators and provide main profit source for incubators. For policy makers, using proactive approaches including creating a good milieu for incubation on technology-based start-ups and the design of public guidance funds is increasingly crucial.

This research is a pioneering study on the key factors and specific ways for the upgrade of government-sponsored non-for-profit TBIs in China to hybrid for-profit and non-for-profit incubators.

This paper aims to analyze the influence of technology-based business incubators (TBIs) on the resources of technology startups in Brazil. The authors identify which resources are offered and explore the importance of resources for TBIs and startups. The theoretical background is based on the resource-based view, the resource dependency theory and total factor productivity.

The study is characterized by a descriptive approach. The method includes a multiple case study and a survey. For data collection, we conducted interviews with three managers from TBIs and distributed questionnaires to 30 startup founders. The content analysis supports the identification of the resources, while the quantitative approach explores the relationship between total factor productivity and resources.

Resources are the linkage between startups and TBIs, promoting the development and continuity of these organizations. Among the resources offered by TBIs, the most representative is physical resources, due to the early stage of startups. TBIs do not offer financial resources directly but facilitate access through networks with other actors.

The research implications depict the importance of resources as a link between TBIs and startups. The results highlight how TBIs play an important role in promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in the context of emerging economies such as Brazil.

This article performs a multi-theoretical analysis, addressing the perspectives concerning resources. No previous study has used this combination of perspectives to analyze the relationship between TBIs and startups in Brazil, filling the gap about this subject in emerging economies.

This study constructs the influence mechanism model of sustainable marketing activities (SMAs), event image, commemorative product perceived value and tourists’ behavioral intentions (TBIs) in the sports tourism context of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. Additionally, the article discusses the role of event image and product perceived value in enhancing the SMAs’ effect on TBIs.

The research analyzed 315 valid questionnaires from tourists in the Chinese market by structural equation modeling.

The results indicate that SMAs positively impact sports tourism event image, tourists’ perceived commemorative product value and TBIs. Meanwhile, event image and product perceived value mediate the SMAs and TBIs relationship.

Considering SMAs as essential for sustainable development, this paper contributes to the strategic management discipline. Additionally, the research expands the analysis of event image and product perceived value in the brand theory and customer behavior research.

The article outlines the principal value of SMAs implementation in enhancing behavioral intentions. It also reveals that a favorable event image and good perceived value can enhance SMAs’ effectiveness toward positively influencing TBIs, especially purchase intentions. It provides a new vision for nonprofit organizations to prioritize SMAs’ implementation in marketing strategies.

It is pioneering work with a complex research framework for SMAs implementation in the sports tourism context.

The purpose of this paper is to determine enabling factors influencing the success of technology business incubators (TBIs) with respect to existing and acquired resources, and describe how these enabling factors have been implemented in practice.

The potential enabling factors were identified based on the literature review through the lens of the resource‐based view (RBV) perspective. The Q‐sort method was then applied to classify those factors according to the experts' opinions, for evoking group consensus on the classifications. Finally, a Thailand science park incubator was taken as a case to illustrate the applicability of the findings.

The strategic resources and their categories which can be considered as TBIs' enabling factors were found through the RBV theory. They are important to TBIs' success and improvement of technology‐based SMEs' competitive advantage.

Because of the lack of international comparisons and the experts' panel selection bias, attempts to generalize the findings should be made with caution.

The findings have been formulated into a set of comprehensive recommendations for all stakeholders (mainly public policy makers), which will help to enhance the development of business incubation in Thailand.

The paper presents an approach to determine enabling factors influencing the successful TBIs, coming from the RBV perspective.

This paper attempts to use agglomeration theory and ecological theory to explore how geographic agglomeration affects the graduation performance of incubator community. The authors argue that increasing the incubator community density can improve the opportunities for mutualism and learning among incubators. However, as the competition intensifies, the above positive relationship will weaken when the incubator density exceeds a certain level.

The authors use a unique panel dataset of 438 National Technology Business Incubators (NTBIs) in China spanning from 2008 to 2012. Since each NTBIs contains multiple observations for different years, these observations that belong to a cross-section are not completely independent of each other; therefore, the regression using ordinary least squares method underestimates the standard deviations of the variables. To solve this problem, the authors regress this cluster panel data using the Newey–West robust variance estimator.

The empirical results show that incubator community density is conducive to promoting incubation performance, while the positive relationship between the incubator community density and incubation performance gradually weakens as the population density of incubators surpasses a certain level. Further, the authors examine how incubator assistance (technical assistance and business assistance) moderates the relationship between incubator density and incubation performance. The results indicate that this positive relationship is stronger when more business assistance is provided by incubator managers, while the moderating role of technical assistance is not supported.

This paper enriches the research on the relationship between incubator community density and graduation performance from the perspective of incubator assistance which helps start-ups to understand, absorb and transform external knowledge and resources, thereby promoting their growth.

Using stakeholder theory the paper seeks to investigate how technology incubators manage and balance the expectations of stakeholders, and the effect on the shaping of technology incubators and their chances of success.

Incubator programmes have been introduced with multiple goals. A case study is conducted in order to examine stakeholders based on their power to influence, the legitimacy of the relationship and the urgency of claim, and how incubators deal with stakeholder expectations.

Incubator management involves balancing a complex set of conflicting goals. Expectations are interdependent, hierarchically organised, and involve sub‐processes related to different stakeholders. Goals are not fitted to an operational context. Consequently, suboptimal solutions are chosen to balance and fulfil expectations sufficiently to ensure survival. Three strategies to balance stakeholder expectations are identified.

The stakeholder theory approach adopted shows how incubators manage the expectations of their various stakeholders, and so may explain why studies on incubator performance produce diverse results.

The effectiveness of incubators is difficult to assess due to multiple, and often moving, targets. There is a great risk that incubators aim for the goals that are easiest to measure and focus on short‐term results. Social returns of incubators can be reduced if incubator managers choose suboptimal solutions to balance the demands of different stakeholders.

Rather than accepting normative assumptions, the paper contributes to the critical analysis of the technology incubator ideal. Through stakeholder analysis the paper demonstrates how incubators are shaped by the struggle to balance conflicting goals.

The paper aims to review existing performance indicators in technology business incubators (TBIs) and propose some new indicators with a focus on incubation activities in higher educational institutes (HEIs) of India.

Performance indicators of various types of incubators were identified from research papers followed by interview, consultation and suggestion from experts of the subject. Nature of interrelationship between the identified indicators has been established with the help of Interpretive Structural Modelling methodology and Matrice d’impacts croisés multiplication appliquée á un classment analysis.

Number of ideas came for screening and number of ideas converted to start-ups, survival rate of incubatees is the indicators which have the highest driving power followed by time taken in screening an idea and number of failed or rejected ideas returned back into incubation. Few indicators (driving indicators) are affecting performance of other indicators as well.

Some performance indicators are proposed which can be used for measuring performance of technology incubators in India. The actual implications will be known when these findings are used to assess performance of some technology incubator. This also is the limitation of the study that some cases can be included to validate the findings of this research.

A total of 15 performance indicators for measuring performance of TBIs in Indian HEIs have been proposed. The proposed indicators will help incubator management to prioritize the efforts and resource allocation.

TBIs are looked upon as mechanism for promoting entrepreneurial culture in Indian HEIs. Their success is well linked to growth of society. This research will help technology incubators to identify the most important factors in incubation process. Performance improvement will directly affect society in whole. Culture of IEE (Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Employment ) can be achieved through technology incubators

Identification of new indicators for performance measurement of incubators in Indian HEIs is the novelty of this research. This has a lot of value due to multilevel hierarchy model.